We Are Legends
by erinski
Summary: Zeus knew we would stop believing in them. So he had no choice but to take his gods and make them live as humans in society. Now its 2013, and some of the gods are teenagers with new names, trying to adapt, until a war threatens to destroy them.
1. We Join Them

They say we are legends.

We existed, but only in ancient times.

The philosophers say this.

The historians say this.

The history books say this.

We are legends.

But we live among you.

Zeus had looked up at the sky and knew the time was coming. The people we looked down on would soon believe us to be mere legends, creatures of myth, only coming alive in the stories of war , love and revenge that is a part of our history.

"They will stop believing," Zeus had announced. His wife, Hera, had clutched his hand, terrified of what this meant. Apollo, the god of the Sun and music, had turned to look at him. "What happens to us?" he asked. He was expecting to hear Zeus say they would disappear, become nothing, become legend. But he hadn't.

With a sigh, Zeus looked straight at Apollo, and said, "We join them."

**Piper ** [per-sep-hone]

My name is Piper. I'm seventeen years old and live in New York. New York is an ideal location for a teenager: cabs at 3am, the best skyline, the neverending parties.

I've just lied to you.

I'm not seventeen. I'm _eons_ older than you, pal. Well, technically I am seventeen. I just happen to be this god knows how old woman in this 21st century teenager's body.

My name is Piper, aka Persephone. Yeah, the girl who Hades took from her mother and kept her in the underworld, only to let her return to her mother in spring when the flowers bloomed.

Don't call a therapist for me, or a mental institution. I'm not crazy.

You see, I come from the time of the ancient Greeks. Zeus had known there would be a time when we would become characters in history books. Gods are immortal. Zeus had no choice but to keep on living. Living on a prayer, like good old Bon Jovi says. Man, Jon Bon Jovi's hot. So Zeus took his gods and goddesses and placed them on earth, as you do. They take on the appearances of the people and change in different eras. I may not be a goddess, but my mother, Demeter, is. I have to partake in this creepy thing. As soon as we joined the mortals, I was released from Hades' grasp. He loved me, but my mother loved me more. But I'm not totally free from the God of the Underworld. Hades is now Hunter Snow, the leather jacket wearing eighteen year old at my school. Creepy, yes?

**Aaron_ [ap-ol-lo]_**

I hate my hair.

Honest to God, I hate my hair.

It's too blonde.

I mean, there's blonde, and then there's BLONDE.

It's the colour of the freakin' sun.

Maybe that's because I'm the Sun God. No, that wasn't a chat up line. I literally am the Sun God. But hey, no biggie.

I attend Lincoln Academy, full of preppy New York teenagers with a trust fund, the kind of teenagers who's ass I'd love to kick. History is a boring subject; after all, I _am_ history.

Heh. You probably want to kick my ass after my arrogance. I'm a nice guy, honestly. I'm just sick of not being able to own up to who I am. When my history professors go on about Apollo, I feel like standing up and telling them the real story. That's why I tend to fall asleep in history class – it stops me from actually doing it.

Right, back to my hair.

It's too blonde. Hence the reason I have hair dye in my hand. Yeah baby, this blondeness is going _down. _It's not being dyed to a completely different colour, no I'm not that sick of my hair. I just want it to be less blonde, which is why I'm going to put in dark blonde streaks, give it a sort of beachy effect. _Colour the strands of hair you want to dye with the brush given in this kit. _Easy enough.

_Now wait 30 minutes for the dye to do its magic, girlfriend! _Ahem, no. Thirty minutes to do something to pass the time. I feed the dog. I watch some videos on YouTube. I do 300 crunches, without a break.

I wash the dye off my hair, ready for my streaks to come through.

Oh, fucking hell.

It's still the colour of the fucking sun.


	2. Watch The Leather

**Ava** _[At-he-na]_

"Ava! Get up! You're going to be late!"

I groaned, trying to ignore the sound of the maid shrieking up the stairs. Given the fact the house has three floors, I'm surprised her voice even gets that far. Wearily, I opened my eyes, ready to greet the day. Shit, wish I hadn't. The sun was streaming in, practically screaming that it was 8am and I had exactly one hour to get to school. In normal circumstances, I'd race out of bed and hurry to get there on time. But since I'm the senator's daughter, with access to a private car, breakfast already made and clothes picked out, all ready to be worn, I was in no rush this Thursday morning. I waited ten minutes, until the maid finally broke and screamed the house down. Padding to the bathroom, I ignore the dog, and make extra effort to ignore the fricking statue of Athena that stands in the corner next to the bathroom door. As if I need any more reminders about my real identity.

It takes me twenty minutes to get ready, that included makeup and hair. Pretty quick I think? As the senator's daughter, public appearance is everything. That means no baggy clothes, no messed up hair, no drinking, no boys, nothing. Yet I still manage to gain popularity and a social life. If you want to be a senator's daughter, here's tip number one: slipping the paparazzi a little something goes a long way.

The one thing that sets me apart from typical popular American girls is this. My true self – _Athena- _is still in me. I was the goddess no one wanted to mess with. I couldn't be touched. Hell, I was born from my father's head fully grown. There's a _reason_ why Athens chose me to be the official patron of Athens instead of Poseidon. I rocked it. And I still do.

I'm number one on Lincoln Academy's Female Swim Team. Hours of training has made me evolve, become stronger, still maintaining the image I had back in the ancient days.

It's the one thing I love doing. It keeps me in control.

Plus it kills Patrick that I'm better than him.

**Patrick **[_po-se-id-on]_

"Alright Avaaa!" I shouted, causing some freshman girls to glance at me and giggle. Ava rolled her eyes and slowed down to let me catch up with her. Her black hair swinged behind her back. "Hey Patrick," she answered, smiling mischievously.

"Babe, you seen the competition for the Lincoln Academy Swim Trophy this year?" I mocked, pointing at myself. "Course you have, he's right in front of you!"

"Ohhh, you're so _funny!_" Ava said sarcastically. "May I remind you I've picked up that trophy- god, three times now?" She winked at me, to let me know she was just messing. I have to admit that her constant winning always dents my ego. A guy's gotta stay tough, even if he's a bit soft on the inside.

"I've perfected that dive," I told her, as we walk up the steps and into the hallway. Ava nodded, approving. "Well done, you've worked for ages trying to get it."

She's not joking. I've spent god knows how many hours trying to improve on this one stupid dive. I'm the God of the sea, I _need_ to get this dive right.

We walked down the corridor, nothing ahead of us. Well, the corridor was crowded, it just so happened that no one dared to walk in front of us.

We're kind of like royalty around here.

Sure, Ava is the senator's daughter. She practically _is_ royalty. But her gorgeous looks, toned figure and freaking tough attitude made her the girl that everyone was in awe of. Jesus, I've spent enough time in the showers to know that every guy on the swim team is in love with her. The girls are intimidated, particularly freshmen. Maybe it's cause they're younger and don't know how to act around her.

Me? I'm Captain of the male swim team at Lincoln Academy. I'm respected and I know for a fact the girls don't just come to watch practice to see my breast-stroke.

So yeah, when we're walking down the corridor, everyone parts like a wave.

Excuse the pun.

Except for one guy who we've walked right into. We were so absorbed in our conversation about diving that we didn't notice the tall guy who blocked our way.

"Ouch!" Ava scolded, bumping right into him. He turned and looked at us.

Greaaaat. "Hunter," I sigh. "How you doing, man?"

Hunter's a scary kid. He's tall, he's got muscle, he has an eyebrow piercing and wears a leather jacket with Doc Martins. The guy could kill me with his thumb. His dark blonde hair is slicked back. "Do you mind watching where you're going?" he growled.

"Sorry dude, we didn't see you. Erm, see you in English," I said, slapping a hand on his back. He shrugged me off. "Watch the leather."

"God, who _says_ something like that?" Ava laughed.

I closed my eyes in desperation. Fantastic. Now was not the time for Athena to get all up Hades' ass.

"Ava, come on.." I muttered.

Hunter raised an eyebrow. "It's an expensive jacket. I don't want anything touching it."

Ava snorted and stepped closer to Hunter. I grabbed her wrist to stop her doing anything rash, but no, before I knew it she was stroking the arm of his jacket, looking up at him with doe eyes.

"Not even me?"

Hunter stared into her eyes, as if he was lost. Finally, he broke free. "Not even _you. _After everything that's happened between us, you're the last person I want touching it."

"Dude, that was eons ago," Ava sighed.

"No, I mean last year-" he broke off. I frowned. Just what the fuck? Last year, what? Ava nodded slowly. "Right. I won't touch it then."

She was defeated. Ava had gone down without a fight.

She looked over Hunter's shoulder and a glimmer of her mischievous smile came back. "Ohhh Hunter... your girlfriend's over there."

Hunter turned and I looked to see who Ava was talking about.

I forgot Piper was at this school.

Actually, I forgot _Persephone_ was at this school.


	3. Alone Means No One Can Hurt You

Hunter _[ha-d-es]_

Shit.

Ava wasn't lying. Piper was walking down the corridor, heading towards me. I clenched my fists, trying to calm down. I hadn't seen her in three weeks, as she had been on holiday somewhere in Italy. Piper is a forgettable person. She doesn't cast a shadow. Hardly anyone remembers her.

But I do.

You look at me and you think "Bad guy." That's just on first impression. But you're wrong. I'm not that bad, honestly. I can be nice.. sometimes. Come on, it's not exactly a vote of confidence when Zeus, the big guy with his fricking lightning bolts, decides that you're better off in the underworld, looking after the _dead._ So you can't blame me for wanting some company. I was lonely. I wanted -_needed_- a friend. It just so happened that I saw her one day and took her for myself, sending her mother into despair. Eventually, we compromised: for six months, she would spend spring with her mother. After that, she would spend six months with me in my dark world, away from the sun. What killed me was that when she did stay with me, the flowers on earth would die and the snow would come. That told me how evil I was.

I fell in love with her. She became a reason for me to smile. No longer did I lurk in the gloom, cursing every soul that entered my underworld. She got used to me.

Until Zeus decided that we were all better off on earth, living as mere mortals. As soon as that happened, Persephone was taken away from me by her mother and I was left alone, again.

Persephone is now Piper. I'm a year older than her in this world, so we're not in the same classes at school, which I guess is a good thing as it hurts when I see her face. Still, it doesn't stop us occasionally bumping into each other in the corridor.

Like this time, for instance.

I'm literally holding my breath as she walked past. She glanced up at me, with nervous eyes, and the smell of her perfume wafted past me. Damn, she smelled good.

If you saw us, you would think what a weird couple. Piper is small, delicate, cute. I'm tall, muscled and wear leather. I'm pretty much a mother's worst nightmare – well, Demeter would know. I'm not the ideal candidate for a boyfriend. Piper will never love me.

That's why I prefer to be alone. I run no risk of ever being hurt.

Ava [at-he-na]

Hunter sighed and his shoulders dropped. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. For a scary guy, he's one hell of a romantic.

Patrick and I scuttle away from him. "Thank god we're out of that darkness!" Patrick whispered as soon as we were out of earshot. I nodded, but felt a pang of pity for Hunter. Yes, we had clashed many times. It still didn't mean that I didn't understand the guy.

Patrick lets out a breath and I look up to see Alexandria walking towards us, swinging her hips.

Alexandria is the meaning of beauty. She is drop dead gorgeous. Her honey blonde hair hangs down her back in waves. Her skin is golden and her eyes are a deep brown. I may be the most popular girl at Lincoln Academy, but Alexandria was the most beautiful.

See, it helps being Aphrodite.

"Alright guys?" she greeted us, holding out a hand and grabbing mine and taking hers back, like we're gangsters. Patrick couldn't stop his eyes from wandering over her body, particularly the hint of cleavage that peeks out from her Hollister cami. Alexandria saw and punched him playfully on the arm. "God, I'm not wearing anything exposing my skin ever again!"

Patrick blushed and laughed nervously. She rolled her eyes and linked arms with me. "So, all set for Danny's party tomorrow night?"

"Who isn't? His parents are out of town all weekend."

"Which I _love_ them for!" Alexandria winked, smiling cheekily. "Aah, speaking of Danny, here he is!"

Right on cue, Danny came up behind us and jumped on Patrick's back. "Good morning mothafuckaaaaas!" he shouted. Danny is a riot. He is irresponsible and reckless, but god we love him. He has a good heart underneath his wild ways.

"Your house ready for tomorrow?" Alexandria asked. Danny raised an eyebrow. "Aphrodite... of course it's ready for tomorrow. The four floors are awaiting your beautiful arrival."

Unlike us, Danny is the only one to occasionally call us by our true names. He is proud of who we used to be.

"I'll be arriving fashionably late, Dionysus," Alexandria replied.

Dionysus was the God of wine, who better to be him than the alcohol fuelled, party loving Danny?


	4. Housewarming

Aaron [ap-ol-lo]

My hair is still the colour of the fricking sun.

I was planning on attending Danny's party with slightly darker hair, but no. For some sick reason, my hair refuses to change colour. Maybe I should just wear a hat from now on.

I steal into my sister's room and look around her things. Look, I don't wear hats. I've never considered wearing one until now. I feel a tad creepy going through her wardrobe, like I'm some stalker, but I find an eskimo hat with flappy ears. If anyone asks, I'll just say it's a new style statement.

Jesus, I sounded like Alexandria just there.

So, wearing a Hollister shirt, surf shorts and converse, complete with the hat, I picked up my car keys and got ready to drive to Danny's. The outfit looks a bit strange but as long as the blonde is covered, I'm all good.

It's only when I stopped at a red light and looked at myself in a shop window that I saw how ridiculous I looked.

Ava [at-he-na]

Danny's townhouse is packed by the time I get there. As soon as I entered the hallway, I knew this was going to be eventful. People were already passed out on the stairs, and it was barely ten o'clock.

"AVA, AVA, AVA!" the boys from the swim team chanted when they saw me. I raised my hand in greeting and found my way to the kitchen, where Danny was lining up rows of shots.

"Got enough there, Danny?" I asked him.

Danny winked. "I _never_ have enough." Clearing his throat, he stood up and leapt onto the kitchen counter. Everyone in the kitchen turned to look at him.

"My good people! Here we stand on the brink of a party revolution!" he shouted. "My parents – as fickle as they are- have left the house keys in my possession for the next forty eight hours. This means I am in charge of this house. As father of this house, I declare this weekend to be two nights of alcoholic CARNAGE!" In reply, everyone cheered. Danny waved a hand, shushing them. "As well as house keys, I happen to have my father's liquor collection on hand. Martinis, Bellinis, vodka, beer, tequila, sambuca, any beverage that destroys your liver is available to your heart's content. So drink up, dance, sing, have sex, do whatever you want because this is MY HOUSE and I know this house needs a good HOUSEWARMING!"

Everyone screamed and clapped. The party had officially commenced.

"Nice hat, dude!"

"Jesus, Aaron.. get dressed in the dark?"

I turned and saw Aaron weaving his way through the crowd, wearing a hat that I assumed to belong to his sister. It was the most horrendous outfit I'd ever seen, but he managed to look quite cute in it.

"Hey Ava," he said, patting me on the back in welcome. He eyed the shots that Danny had made and took two.

"Wow, you're going for it tonight," I joked. Aaron laughed.

"Dude, one of them's for you."

Nate [nar-cis-sus]

Man, I look good tonight. I mean, I'd stepped out my apartment knowing that. But tonight, the looks of the girls near me just confirm it. They couldn't resist. But no, none of them were worth the effort to get them naked. I could give a girl a drink, ask her if she wanted to hang out, go upstairs and do the damn thing, but the ones I can see... wouldn't touch them with a foot long flag pole.

I saw Aaron and resisted the urge to laugh in his face. That hat looked hilarious. You'd never catch me wearing a thing like that.

Anyway, back to these girls.

Just no.

I've had girlfriends before, I'm not picky. But I have standards. My longest relationship has been... three weeks. Believe me, that was a long time.

Now _there_ is a beauty.

Alexandria.

Fuuuck, she's hot. I noticed her talking to Ava. Her hair was as golden as ever, matching her skin. Her tanned legs were on full show, thanks to the tiny denim shorts she'd chosen to wear. Someone needs to give Daisy Duke her shorts back.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and glanced in my direction, fleetingly.

_Fleetingly._

I made no impact.

No way, Nate doesn't go for that. In a room, I make an impact on _everyone._

Doing my best swagger, I made my way towards her, ignoring the groupies I have behind me. I cleared my throat and she turned.

"How's it going Alexandria?"

Even saying her _name_ was nice.

"It's going alright Nate, yourself?"

"I'm good, I'm good.. fancy a drink?"

Alexandria looked at Ava, who gave her a look. It was a look that said _"don't even think about it."_ Alexandria bit her lip. "Maybe later, Nate."

I frowned. She had just rejected me. What the fuck?

"Come on, one shot," I tried again. Ava held her hands up the air. _Fine, but you're getting no help from me if this goes wrong. Your funeral. _

"Alright, one shot," Alexandria answered. I grinned. "Awesome! Come with me, there's a huge selection."

"Only one Nate. Then you can go slime over someone else."

She wouldn't have just one though. Girls like her, they're all talk.


	5. Piper In The Corner

Piper [per-seph-one]

I stood gingerly in the corner of the room, wringing my hands together. Why the hell had I bothered coming? I was a year younger than these people, I wasn't in any of their classes, yet I had _still _attended Danny's party of the century. I don't even know how I was invited to be honest. All I know is that Danny had made invitations _specifically_ and somehow, one had ended up in my locker. I thought it had been a mistake, but my friends had foolishly persuaded me to go, just to see what an actual party was like.

Yeah, we don't get out much.

Standing there, wearing skinny jeans and a Hello Kitty shirt (it's retro, don't even think about laughing), I stuck out like a sore thumb. Look at Alexandria, for example. Here she was dressed, sure, a little sluttily, but she looked _good_, not that that was a challenge. Her shorts were tiny and her cami was showing a strip of her stomach – complete with a pierced bellybutton- and she owned the attention of every guy in the room. Particularly Nate, the beautiful boy who knew he was beautiful. He was plying her with shots and Alexandria was taking them and setting them down on the table, only downing one every so often.

Ava was talking to Aaron. Her long, black hair was set in loose waves, and she wore a green cashmere sweater with denim shorts and brown suede ankle boots. They were looking a little comfortable, standing next to each other, talking amongst themselves in private conversation. I thought I saw Ava glance at me and whisper something to him, but that was probably just my imagination.

Aaron [ap-ol-lo]

"Shit, why is she here?" Ava whispered sharply in my ear.

I looked up and she quickly slapped my cheek. "Ouch! Watch the skin!" I scolded. Ava rolled her eyes. "Don't make it so obvious that you're looking at her!"

As discreetly as I could manage, I looked over to where Piper was standing. She was a year younger than us, she had no business being here. I mean, she seemed like a nice girl and everything, but the rest of our class would wonder.

"She shouldn't be here," Ava said. "For her sake."

Before I could wonder about what she meant by that, I saw the worst thing I could ever see. My sister had come into the kitchen. Ohh greaaat, and she was walking towards me.

"What the fuck are you doing wearing my hat?"

I groaned. I really did not need this right now. "I needed it."

"Why? It's not like it's winter outside."

"Look, I'm kind of in the middle of a conversation right now," I said, glancing at Ava.

My sister smiled, but not in a nice way. "My apologies." She reached over and pecked Ava on the cheek. "Hey Ava".

Ava returned the kiss. "Hey Astra, not seen you in forever."

"Lucky, lucky you.." I muttered. Astra kicked me in the shin with her spiked heel. "OW! Why is everyone hurting me today?"

Astra smirked. "Maybe because you're an annoying little boy."

"Hey, I'm definitley _not _little," I protested. Astra shook her head. "So, you haven't answered my question. Why the fuck are you wearing my hat?"

I shuffled my feet.

"I needed it. I hate my hair.. Anyway, what are you doing wearing that abomination of an outfit?"

That made me sound so camp but it had to be said.

"What's wrong with her outfit, I like it!" Ava said, nodding her approval of Astra's choice of clothes.

Right, let me just say, my sister has a refined taste. She's slightly eccentric. Everything she wears seems to look like she stepped from a 20th century book, just modernised. Her blonde hair (just like mine. Well, we _are_ twins) was pulled up in a huge quiff, the rest of it hanging down. She wore a black lace dress, complete with a corset, stopping mid thigh. I swear, it looked too short, but that's probably because she's my sister and I _don't_ want to see her skin, ever. Her legs were covered by lace tights and on her feet was her black, studded ankle boots, complete with the spiked heel that hurt my shin. As usual, she wore her pendant round her neck, of a half moon. Her right ear had a flesh tunnel. Her blue eyes were lined with dark eyeliner. As god of the moon, of course she was expected to wear dark, slightly scary stuff. Artemis was a warrior, it was only fair that Astra carried that on in this life.

"I look better than you by any stretch," Astra retorted. "The hat with surf shorts? You look hilarious." I pushed her gently and she stuck her tongue out. Oh god, she had her tongue pierced.

I glanced at Ava, who was looking a little peaked. She was looking at Piper. I sighed.

"Okay, so she's younger-"

"It's not a matter of _age,_ Apollo!"

I stared at her. She _never_ called me Apollo. Ever.

"Ava.. what?"

Astra frowned. "Is that..?"

"Piper," Ava and I said simulteanously.

"What's she doing here? She's not in our class."

"Exactly.." Ava murmured. The clockwork in her head was ticking. Her gaze broke away from Piper and she let out a breath. "Danny!"

"Wassup?" Danny grinned. "Oh hey, Astra. You look as gothicly beautiful as ever!"

Astra rolled her eyes. Enough with the charm, Danny."

Ava grabbed Danny's wrist. "Did you invite Piper?"

Danny looked confused. "No... she's not in our class. I get that she's part of our history but she's younger, this party isn't suitable."

Jesus, Danny could sound like an adult sometimes, which was terrifying seeing as he was usually so careless about everything.

"Well, she's here", Ava continued. "Who invited her?"

"Erm, Ava?" Astra broke in. Her voice was on edge. "I think I know who."

She cocked her head and we all looked for who she was talking about.

Hunter was standing on the opposite side of the room, looking over at where Piper was standing. He held a bottle of beer in his hand and his leather jacket was still on.

Now I could see why Ava was so worried.

Hunter [ha-des]

I was only looking at her. I wasn't doing anything remotely bad. Yet that wasn't stopping the others staring at me, looking like worried parents.

I just wanted to _see_ her for more than two seconds. No quick glances in the school corridors. I wanted to just watch her, maybe have a conversation.

Piper wasn't supposed to be here, yeah. But that hadn't stopped me from slipping the invitation in her locker. Danny had given me one, which was a little surprising as we hardly talk. But he's all about upholding our history, so I guess he didn't want a god to miss out on the "party of the century".

I'd managed to grab another one from his bag, before he could see. That one I had decided to give to Piper.

So far, this party was shit.

You can't exactly have fun if people are staring at you. I glanced over to them and wish I hadn't. Ava scowled as she looked at me. I bit my lip, turning away quickly again.

Only to look at Piper, who had chosen that moment to look over at me.

Something passed between us, I felt it. Her eyes looked pained. She remembered our time together, of course she did. She knew I loved her. But she wasn't going to react.

Standing there, wearing that stupid Hello Kitty shirt, she looked like a child. She was too young to love me like I loved her.

I heard footsteps coming in my direction. _Oh fucking hell, bring it on.. _I thought.

"Stop looking at her," Ava said.

A lump rose in my throat. "I wasn't."

"Please. I can see you staring at her from across the room. You've got to let her go."

I groaned. "Jesus, enough! You've told me this before! I've tried but it's.. it's not working."

Ava sighed and stood beside me, placing her foot against the wall behind her. "You know _why_ it's not working? Because you're too focused on her. You're not _seeing_ everything. You won't look at anyone else. You're limiting yourself. God Hunter, you're eighteen. You're young-"

"I think we _both_ know that's not true," I smirked. Ava closed her eyes, trying to be patient. "You know what I mean. Don't you think you should give yourself a chance in this life and just move on? Be happy?"

I looked down at her. Her brown eyes were stern. She looked way older than Piper. She looked more beautiful.

She suddenly turned red. "I wasn't saying that you should move on with _me.._"

My eyes widened. Shiit. "I know. I know.. it's just difficult."

"Look, have a drink and move over to my side of the room. Stay away from her. I've had enough trouble trying to deal with the two of you."

She took my wrist and dragged me away from my dark corner, away from Piper.


	6. Nobody Puts Piper In The Corner

Patrick [po-sei-don]

So, I'd arrived at Danny's pretty late. I knew I had because I'd missed his speech, which apparently was a spectacle to be seen. Clearly the alcohol had gotten to everyone's heads: Alexandria was having her neck nibbled by _Nate, _of all people. Danny was currently dancing on top of the coffee table, doing the shuffle routine. He was sending glasses of drinks flying but that didn't stop everyone cheering and taking pictures, later to be posted on Facebook.

I spotted Piper standing by herself. _Now that's just harsh, _I thought. Being the nice guy I was, I made my way over to her, just to say hello. I did wonder why she was there but assumed Danny had invited her: he constantly championed our history and wouldn't have wanted to miss out anyone who had been there in those days.

"Hey," I greeted her. She smiled nervously. "Hi Patrick."

"What are you doing over here by yourself?"

Piper bit her thumbnail. "I shouldn't be here. I was invited but I don't know why... I should probably go."

"Hey hey, no way. No one leaves a party – especially a party held by _Danny_- at..", I checked the clock, "11.30. No way. Come get a drink with me, I'll find you some people to hang with."

She looked surprised by my compassion. "Um... okay. I don't really drink."

"There's a first time for everything," I smiled. "Now come on!"

I took her hand and led her to the kitchen where there were spare glasses standing on the counter. "Hmm, first time drinker... I'll give you a little vodka and coke to get you started!" I told her, pleased with my decision. Piper nodded, warily I think, and took the glass once I'd filled it up. "Thank you for talking to me by the way.. no one's talked to me at all tonight."

"Maybe that's because you were standing in a corner being Little Miss Unsociable," I winked. I looked around the room.

"Sorry, I'm boring you!" Piper burst out. I frowned then realised: she thought I was looking for other people to talk to instead of her. "What? No! Nah, I'm just looking for some new friends for you.. and I've found them!"

Taking her hand again, I led her to the other side of the room, near the French windows.

"Ava, I have a new friend for you! She's feeling a bit lonely," I said. Ava turned to me, a cigarette in her hand. She looked at Piper. Her eyes widened.

"Errm.. great. Well done, Patrick."

Her voice lilted with sarcasm. Ava wasn't normally so bitter. "Sorry, she just needed a friend."

"Oh, it's not her I'm annoyed about," Ava said.

Piper awkwardly took a sip of her drink as Ava grabbed my arm. She leant close to my ear. "I wish you used your eyes properly."

I frowned. As Ava moved away from me, I saw Hunter standing behind her.

Oh man.

I'd brought Piper to the one guy who she was _supposed_ to stay away from.

Piper saw him as soon as I did. Her face was of embarrassed surprise. Well done Patrick, I told myself. You are the master of awkward situations.


	7. Dark Turn

"_this is my deepest dream;  
>this is how I show you my love" <em>

_-**Dreams, We Came As Romans**_

Hunter _[ha-des]_

She was standing right there in front of me.  
>Oh God.<br>She was..  
>I was literally tongue tied.<br>Piper went pale and coughed awkwardly. Her hands were clenched together. I wished she wouldn't act like that. It reminded me of the monster I was. She didn't remember my occasional kindness and relentless love for her. She just remembered me as her kidnapper.  
>"So.." Patrick broke the silence. "Going anywhere this summer, Hunter?"<br>I looked at the floor, scuffing my boot against the floor. "I don't holiday. I don't like the sun."  
>Patrick nodded dumbly. "So erm.. no city breaks?"<br>Ava hit him on the arm. "OW!"  
>"Shut up, Patrick."<br>Piper still stood there, quiet as anything. I couldn't stand this anymore. I wasn't going to stand there in front of her, in front of everyone, them judging me and her afraid.  
>Fuck this.<br>I took the bottle of Jack Daniels that Danny was casually holding and downed a shot of it.  
>Then another.<br>"Thanks," I said, trying to ignore the burning in my throat. I turned and walked away, away from them. I'd find a corner to sit in and ignore everyone. It's not like I'd be missed.

Ava _[at-he-na]_

I watched Hunter walk away, head hanging, trying not to look too upset.

He wasn't fooling me.

He never did.

I glanced at Piper and could see the pain in her eyes. She looked so much like a little girl, it was scary. It was scary to think she and Hunter.. well, she and _Hades_ had once been involved – even if she hadn't wanted to be. Hunter, this tall, muscled boy who wore leather and had an eyebrow piercing. He was the most unlikely boy to ever love Piper.

I watched as he sat down on an armchair and held his head in his hands. His shot glass had been refilled, this time with vodka. I was close to going over to him, offer him some comfort, but the sight of Alexandria and Nate turned my stomach and stole my attention.

"Sleazebag alert," I announced. Aaron and Patrick looked over. Danny let out a whoop. "Yes! It's not a party until someone makes out!"

I shook my head and stormed over to them, ignoring the slobbering noises.

"Alex... you have Nate attached to your tongue," I told her. Alexandria ignored me. Danny came up next to me and took a photo on his iPhone. "This is going on Facebook!" he squealed, finding it the funniest thing ever. I'd laugh too if it wasn't Alexandria. And Nate.

His hands were inching up her back, under her cami. No way, Alexandria was not getting embarrassed in front of everyone like this.

I grabbed her hair.

"OW!" she screamed.

"You're making out with Nate. Remember Hayden?"

She blinked. She couldn't place Hayden.

"Hayden. He's on the football team... at our school. The guy you're kinda going out with."

Alexandria's eyes widened. She pushed Nate away, who was still trying to go in for another tonsil session.

"What?" Nate cried, confused.

"Another time," Alexandria said quickly.

"Not another time!" I broke in. "Never again!"

Alexandria rubbed her neck, which was showing a hickey. "Erm.. can I borrow a scarf to hide this?" she whispered.

Nate looked offended.

Aaron _[ap-ol-lo]_

It was 1.30am. Pretty much the time when the party was becoming the "alcoholic carnage" Danny wanted.  
>Ava had managed to pull Alexandria away from Nate, who did <strong>not<strong> look happy. Danny and Patrick were slapping each other's palms as hard as they could manage, taking a shot after each slap burned their skin.  
>Astra was dancing hazily in the centre of the room, looking like she was on drugs. She was in a dreamlike state. To be honest, that was just the way she danced.<br>I noticed Piper stuck close to Ava, despite them not talking much. She stood sort of apart from Ava and Alexandria, who was scrutinizing her hickey in the mirror, trying to cover it up with makeup. Piper suggested using toothpaste, to which Alexandria wrinkled her nose. "I don't want to smell like someone's mouth.."  
>"Oh, yeah, sure. It's just it fades it really well," Piper said in her nervous voice. She was <em>always<em> nervous.  
>Ava smiled mischievously. "And how would you know that, hmm?"<br>She laughed when Piper turned bright red.  
>I looked round the room and found Hunter smoking a cigarette on the other side of the room. As long as he was away from Piper, that was fine. Besides, with Ava beside her, it was unlikely that Piper would be bothered by him.<p>

Ava [_at-he-na]_

I was okay with having Piper latching onto me. I mean, at first it was annoying but she was quite funny. The way she blushed at _everything_ was fun to watch. She was like a little child.  
>"Fucking hell, why <em>Nate?"<em> Alexandria groaned. "Of all people, I had to make out with _Nate_. I'm cleaning my mouth out as soon as I get home. Maybe with toothpaste."  
>She said the last thing when she looked at Piper and she winked. Piper blushed again but smiled this time.<br>"Lexii!"  
>Alexandria's eyes widened. "Don't tell me its-"<br>"Hayden," I announced.  
>Alexandria's boyfriend made his way over to her. His body was muscled, with veins sticking out his hands. Sticky out veins made Alexandria melt. Hayden was the star quarterback of the school's football team, he'd won awards for his skills. He could kick the crap out of anyone.<br>Well, what do you expect from Hercules, of all people?  
>Hayden was a demi-God, so he wasn't like us in the same respect. But his past life as one of Greece's heroes made <em>us<em> respect him.  
>"Hey Lexii," Hayden murmured and kissed her cheek. The sight of them two together made me want to puke and also applaud at the same time. They were too cute. Hayden was the only person to call Alexandria by a nickname. He was the only boy Alexandria had allowed to get so close to her.<p>

Alexandria _[ap-hr-od-ite_]

I turned and wrapped my arms around Hayden. After the whole Nate thing, Hayden was the one person I really wanted to be with right now. As I felt his arms wrap around the small of my back, I smiled. He was the only boy to see past my looks and see me for the girl I really was. Sure, he thought I was beautiful, but he knew there was more to me than that.  
>Unlike every other boy I knew.<br>He flipped me around to face Ava and he wrapped his arms around me from behind.  
>"How's it going, Ava?" he asked.<br>He was also very polite, I have to say.  
>"I'm good, Hayden. Great game last Friday."<br>"Aww thanks! I loved the banner you guys made me," he said, squeezing me against him. I beamed, loving the feel of his six pack through his shirt, against my back.  
>Ava smiled and then frowned, looking at something over Hayden's shoulder.<br>"Whats up?" I asked.  
>"..Nothing. I'm gonna go for a minute, talk amongst yourselves," she muttered.<br>She wandered away, leaving us together. I turned to face Hayden this time and noticed his face was looking more tanned than usual. "Hey, been outdoors much?" I joked.  
>Hayden laughed. "I went to Newport last weekend. The surf was awesome. You should've come."<br>"I will, next time. You can teach me how to work a board."  
>Hayden pulled me closer. "Have I not kissed you yet?"<br>"Not really.. just a measly peck on the cheek.."  
>He leant closer and I could feel his breath on my skin. Our lips met. His hands held me tight, occasionally running through my hair. "Any chance you wanna just skip the party and go back to my place?" he whispered in my ear.<br>I squeezed his hand. "Hell yeah."

Hunter [ha-des]

_Woaaah, walk straight.._

_Fuuuck, the floor is spinnnning!_  
>I'll admit. I was drunk. Very, very, very drunk. The floor kept slipping under my feet, I swear it was trying to trip me up.<br>_Strobe lights are AWESOME...  
><em>Astra was dancing, like a fairy, if what a fairy dances like is kind of slow, with eyes closed and arms in the air.  
><em>A fairy DEFINITLEY dances like that!<br>_I joined her, a monster dancing with a fairy. She whooped and hollered, not caring that it was me. I didn't care either, I'd stopped caring about anything three drinks ago.  
>Until I saw Piper go up the stairs.<br>Now I cared.  
><em>SPINNY FLOOOOR!<br>_I made my way up the stairs after her, avoiding a couple making out on the stairs. Where would she be going? Why was no one with her? Who could ever leave her?_  
><em>She entered the bathroom across the hall, leaving the door open. She stood in front of the mirror and took out her lipgloss. Huh. I didn't know she wore makeup. I heard loud music come on downstairs.  
><em>This is my deepest dream, this is how I show you my love<em>.  
>I loved Piper but she didn't love me.<br>The stairs swayed under me. I gripped onto the banister, balancing myself. She hadn't noticed me on the stairs. If she turned around, she would. But she was focused on the mirror. I slowly walked up a step at a time.  
><em>My heart hurts and my heart breaks.<br>_I could hear Danny whooping downstairs and a girl shout at him to turn off the noise. I kept my attention on Piper. She was alone, finally. Maybe I could just try and talk to her. It was about time we got over this.  
><em>Beloved let us love one another.<br>This is my deepest dream.  
><em>She turned and gasped. She'd seen me. Piper backed away, further into the bathroom. I kept walking. I held out a hand, trying to reassure her I meant no harm.  
>"Piper.." I murmured. Her eyes were wide and she clenched her fists. "W-What?" she stuttered. I stumbled on the last step.<br>"I just want.. to talk to you."  
>She backed away again, but inched closer to the door. She was planning an escape route, a way to get past me. That wasn't going to happen.<br>She attempted it. But my build took up most of the doorframe and her petite body couldn't get past.  
>"Hunter," she said, finally sounding normal.<br>I clenched her hand, which was so small in mine. "Please," I whispered. All I needed was to talk to her.  
>I pushed her back into the bathroom and shut the door behind us. <p>

**Review, review, review! :) **_  
><em>


	8. Just Love Me

Piper

Per-seph-one

Hunter forced me into the bathroom, not taking his eyes off me. It was as if he couldn't bear to see me try and run. Locking the door behind him, he stood rigid, feet apart. "Please can I just talk to you?" he whispered.

"N-N-No," I forced out. "Hunter, you can't just force me to talk to you-"

"I don't mean to force you! Please Piper…"

He took a step towards me and on instinct, I took a step back. Something about this situation seemed threatening. My heart hammered against my chest. "H-H-Hunter, please let me g-g-go."

He shook his head. In the bathroom light, his blue eyes were even more glittering, even more like the depths of the ocean. He was gorgeous. But I couldn't bear to think of him as anything more. She couldn't love him. I couldn't return his feelings. No matter how hard he tried, I just couldn't give in. Especially now that he was inching closer, reaching for my hand. I stepped back again but this time, he was too quick and knew what I was going to do. "Don't," he murmured. His skin was cold against mine. I flinched, wishing I could think of a way to get away from him. "Piper..," his face had a look of torture. My hand in his, he pulled me towards him and our lips crashed together. Emotions ran through me all at once- surprise, shock, rage, revulsion and sadness. Sadness because I would never love him and he would have to deal with it.

His lips grew harder on mine and I struggled to get out of his embrace. His hands were too strong as they held me to him. I curled my fists into balls and hammered against his chest but to no avail- Hunter was too strong and well-built. I tore my lips away from his. "HUNTER, STOP IT!" I shouted, trying to push him away. "Stop it, Piper! PLEASE!" he begged, still clutching me to his chest. "JUST LOVE ME!"

Ava

At-he-na

Aaron, Patrick and I rushed up the stairs towards the bathroom. We could hear the shouting from downstairs and it was obvious it wasn't pretty. Worry gripped my heart: I knew Hunter was with Piper, trying to do God knows what with her. I didn't particularly like the girl but it didn't mean that I wanted her to be alone with Hunter.

"PLEASE JUST LOVE ME!"

"Oh God," Patrick whispered under his breath. "See if he does anything to her-"

"I am blaming you for this Patrick, believe me," I snapped. "If you hadn't fucking interfered and brought her over to us-"

"She was alone! I felt bad for her!"

We had reached the bathroom door, which Aaron was trying to force open. He rattled the handle and banged the door. "HUNTER! Let her out of there!"

"Please listen to him!" Piper screamed through the door. "Let go of me!"

There was a crash and Patrick let out a strangled cry. "Oh God, I'm a terrible person, I'm a terrible person!" he cried frantically. "COME ON AARON, KICK THE FUCKING DOOR DOWN!"

"IT'S LIKE TEN INCHES OF FUCKING WOOD PATRICK, UNLESS YOU FANCY GIVING IT A TRY!"

Hunter

Ha-des

I could hear them outside, shouting at me to stop. But I couldn't. Some monster in me was refusing to let Piper go. I had her up against the wall, forced into a corner. I was trying to kiss her. My intention had been to just speak to her… what the fuck had happened? It was like the alcohol had gone to my head, but instead of drunkenness, I was experiencing utter mindlessness towards the girl I loved. "Please Hunter, stop!" she wailed, punching her hands against me. Tears were running down her cheeks- just like me. I was crying too. She _had_ to love me. She had to.

"HUNTER, OPEN THE DOOR AND GIVE HER TO ME!" Ava yelled.

Piper struggled against me. "AVA!" she screamed out. Ava beat her fist against the door. "Piper, don't panic, please don't! We're gonna get you out. FOR FUCK'S SAKE AARON, KICK HARDER!"

No. They couldn't get her out of there before I told her everything.

"Piper, listen. I love you. I need you. I miss every single thing about you. I wish for the day you smile at me in the corridor or come up to me at my locker and say hey. But you never do. Never. You hate me, and rightly so. I'd hate me too. But I love you. It's killing me inside, believe me! I need you to just love me in the same way that I love you. It's torture. P-P-Please-" My voice was coming out in a strangled panic, trying to quickly say my piece before the door was knocked down. "I love you more than I could ever love anybody. I love you Piper. I love Persephone."

Her eyes were wide with shock. Her mouth was agape. She had stopped struggling- she just stood there, solid, registering everything I had told her. Her lips parted, her brown eyes looking up into mine. My heart quickened and I knew this was it. She wanted me to kiss her. After years of avoiding me, she was going to let me kiss her-

**CRASH!**

Ava had kicked the door down. Piper's head whipped around to face her and she ran into Ava's arms. Like a lioness looking out for her cub, Ava held her as she stood in front of me, shouting in my face. "If you EVER pull a stunt like that ever again, I swear to Zeus that you will never walk this earth AGAIN!" As Piper sobbed, Ava passed her to Patrick, who took her gently, whispering comfort into her ear.

Ava stepped closer to me and leant up, her breath tickling my neck.

"I get that you love her… but that was too far."

Her voice was like venom.


	9. Get Out Alexandria

Okay, a few things to say before I continue with this chapter. I'm loving your reviews, very nice, however… I'm sorry if the characters aren't exactly accurate or true to their god persona. I'm not into mythology as much as some readers, I just like the stories. Some of the characters may not exactly follow their original story, but since this is meant to be the modern world, obviously things have changed (plus I'm not exactly filled with knowledge about it). If you have any suggestions about the chapters or characters, feel free to let me know. Just don't shove all these things down my throat, it's a lot to take in! Anyways, please keep reading and reviewing, I love your reviews :D How bad are we feeling for Hunter right now? Poor boy. Ahem.

Patrick

Pos-ei-don

The party mood had changed from fun-filled, drunken antics to hysteria as soon as Ava had kicked down the bathroom door and saved Piper from a fate worse than Hades. I watched as Ava held Piper to her, protecting her from Hunter. Disgust filled me. Hunter had taken this innocent girl up the bathroom, pretty much holding her hostage, intending to do God knows what with her. What kind of sick creep does that? Ava gently guided Piper down the stairs, holding her shaking hand. Hunter moved to go after them but Aaron stood in his path.

"Don't even think about it," he growled. Hunter turned pink and looked down at his Doc Martens. "I-I didn't mean it…" he whispered. My ears burned. I joined Aaron in our blockade against Hunter. "If you didn't mean it, you wouldn't have locked her in the bathroom with you," I retorted. He turned pinker and didn't speak.

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and turned to see Danny, looking like he could kill something. "What the fuck do you think you're playing at?" he asked Hunter.

"I-I-I-"

"What, cat got your tongue?" Danny spat. He shoved Hunter, pushing him against the wall. "You don't come to my party and take some girl fucking hostage. Everyone was having a good time, drinking, dancing, whatever, until you came along and had to turn it all to shit. Make things blacker, as usual. You don't make moon eyes at some girl. You don't drink my whiskey. You don't take said girl up the stairs to my bathroom where you lock the fucking door and refuse to let anyone in. I invited you to my house as a way to honour our history, and how do you thank me? By trying to hurt her-"

"I WASN'T TRYING TO HURT HER!" Hunter shouted. Personally, I wonder what exactly he wanted with her. It was scary he had even tried anything. But then again… the tears of frustration in Hunter's eyes showed a different side.

No. I wasn't going to feel sorry for the douchebag.

"Get out of my house," Danny muttered. "If I even see you in the halls at school, turn the other way."

I was expecting Hunter to rise to it and go all bad ass, like he usually does. But he didn't. Instead, he walked down the stairs and didn't look back. Nothing bad ass about it.

Alexandria

Aph-ro-dite

I love this house. I love this bedroom. I love these candles. I love these Egyptian cotton sheets. I love this pillow. I love this bed. I love the boy above me on this bed.

We had reached Hayden's house in under ten minutes and he had wasted no time in ripping my clothes off. Literally. To be honest, I'd wasted no time either. It had been hot enough in his car, sitting in the passenger seat, trying not to cry out as his hand stroked up my skin and touched me. The fact he was driving and couldn't exactly do anything to me made the tension even better.

And now we were in his bed, going for it another round. His tanned arms rippled with muscle, his stomach hard and defined. I glanced over at the mirror that stood nearby and could see our reflections- we were a goodlooking couple, I'll tell you that. Tanned and long limbed. My hair looked like a fricking birds nest, but that just shows I was having a good time. Wink wink, nudge nudge.

"Do you have any idea how amazing you are?" he whispered into my neck, kissing the skin. I smiled. I liked it when he was all lovey-dovey with me. He wasn't going on about how beautiful I was or how hot my body looked. He always paid attention to the little details.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me?" I asked in my best bedroom voice. Bond Girls, be jealous.

"You're the most amazing girl I have ever been with. Honest to God. I can't… I can't describe how happy you make me. You're perfect, inside and out." He smiled sheepishly. "I just can't believe that you're with me." I had to stop myself from screaming with happiness.

"And I love how I can touch you and kiss you all over!" he laughed, grabbing me and pulling me closer, tickling my ribcage. "AAAH HAYDEN!" I squealed. My stomach hurt from my laughter.

"Hahahaha! W-Wait… what's that?"

My heart stopped. His fingers touched the side of my neck.

"You have a hickey?"

_Oh no. Nate. Hickey. Hickey from Nate. Think fast._

"Erm, I think you gave me it? You have been kissing my neck after all…"

"Not this side. And the last time I saw you was last week and I didn't give you one… Lexii, who gave you the hickey?"

This wasn't happening. I blinked hard, hoping this was just a dream. But no, it was real and Hayden was looking at me with hurt in his eyes, as well as a growing anger. "Lexii…"

"I-I-I don't know-"

"BULLSHIT!"

He ripped himself away from me in a split second. He clutched his hands to his head as he paced the floor, trying to keep calm, which obviously wasn't working. I wished I could reach out and touch his hand, let him know that it was okay and I wasn't the massive bitch that he was secretly calling me in his head, but I knew that doing so would only rile him further.

"I can't believe- who the fuck gave you it?"

I sat up and curled into myself, trying to avoid his eyes. It didn't work. He grabbed my wrist, pulling me towards him. His fingers were so strong, I was scared my wrist would snap. "Who gave you the hickey?"

_Don't fucking cry. _"N-N-Nate."

He was shocked. He dropped my wrist, which was sure to be red raw. "Nate? Nate Beaumont? SERIOUSLY? What the fuck?"

"Please Hayden- I was drunk! He got me drunk"-

"You NEVER let Nate Beaumont get you drunk! Don't you know that's asking for it? Jesus! I can't believe you would do that to me! I can't- I can't even look at you right now. Get out."

I felt hot tears slide down my cheeks. I couldn't believe things had changed so quickly in five minutes. "Hayden"-

"Please. Get out, Alexandria."


	10. It's Been A While

Patrick

Poseidon

The party was over swiftly after that. Danny, with a hint of regret, declared the party finished and that everyone should leave.

"And to think I didn't even get involved in a threesome this time…" he huffed, throwing an empty can of beer in the garbage. Ava was holding Piper's hand, like a mother. Piper was whimpering, tears drying on her cheeks. Ava turned to me.

"Patrick."

Her face was set like stone. "Take her home."

I nodded. It was my fault for bringing her into the group, it was only fair I looked after her. Holding out my hand to her, Piper looked at it and slowly placed her hand in mine. Her digits were so small compared to my ones. I coaxed her down the stairs and looked back up at Ava who was standing at the top, arms by her sides, her chin pointed defiantly. She resembled a warrior.

"Right, come on lovely. Let's get you home."

Her house was on the way to Aaron's, which was where I'd be staying tonight. Aaron was… well, I didn't know, but I figured I may as well get his sister to come with me since she'd be staying there too. Obviously.

ASTRA, COME ON!" I shouted back into the house. Piper flinched from the volume of my voice, which I immediatley regretted. "Sorry," I whispered. We waited for Astra to leave the house. Her spiked heels summoned her arrival as she walked down the hallway, her jacket hanging from her arm.

"Hey Patrick," she greeted me. "Hey sweetie," she said to Piper, squeezing her shoulder. We began to walk down the sidewalk towards wherever Piper lived.

Then I realised – we couldn't leave her like this.

"You're coming back with us."

Piper stared up at me. "W-What?"

"You're spending the night with us. You can stay in Astra's room, she has a double bed. And pyjamas probably. Right? You don't sleep naked?"

Astra stuck her tongue out. "Only on Mondays."

I hoped to Zeus she was kidding.

Alexandria

Aphrodite

I sobbed as I got into the cab that Hayden had forced me to call ten minutes before. He had refused to listen to me as I protested. Shouting and crying had been our soundtrack since he discovered the hickey on my neck that wasn't from him.

Hayden stuck his head into the window and handed the driver a ten dollar note. "10 Olive Grove Crescent. Get her home safe."

He didn't even look at me as he turned away from the vehicle. My shoulders shook as my sobs became heaving gasps.

"At least he paid for your fare, honey…" the driver said awkwardly.

Sure. Even when he was mad, Hayden could still be a gentleman.

Ava

Aphrodite

I'd said my goodbyes to a very pissed off Danny and had collected my coat, ready for the walk home. Anger and frustration still filled my head.

He had taken a girl hostage at a party.

Who the FUCK does that?

My foot crunched down on a leaf. It was nearly the end of Autumn, almost Winter.

Persephone would have been with Hades right now.

I shook the disturbing thought out of my head. Piper wasn't Persephone anymore – Hunter had to realise that.

I was a few yards down the block when I saw a figure sitting down on the edge of the kerb. Warily, I quickened my step, ready to defend myself with my keys if the figure attacked.

That was now unlikely, as the person was crying.

And as I got closer, I realised it was Hunter.

"What are we going to do with you?" I sighed, standing above him. His shoulders heaved and he looked up at me. "Oh just leave me alone, Ava. I've had enough of you and your friends shouting at me."

I scoffed. "We had our reasons! You locked her in the bathroom with you! It was scary!"

He waved a hand at me. "I know, I know…" he murmured.

Sighing, I felt no choice but to sit beside him and get him out of this sorry, quite frankly cringey state. "Hunter… you have to get over her."

"You don't think I know that? Jeez Ava, I try! I'm always TRYING!"

He grabbed a nearby stone and gripped it tightly, drawing blood. "Shit, Hunter, stop it!" I grabbed his hand and prised the stone away from his fingers. Blood covered my fingertips.

"Hunter…" I whispered.

"What?"

Something in me felt sad for him. I wanted this guy to have a break, be cut some slack. "Hunter. I know it's hard. It's shit. I get it, I witnessed it. But Piper isn't-"

"She isn't the same girl," he cut in sharply. "She isn't Persephone. Like you're not Athena."

"Hunter, I am Athena," I murmured. My hand was still in his bloody fist. His fingers closed over mine. "Athena's awesome…" he whispered.

I laughed throatily. "Yeah, she's pretty cool. Hades is badass."

He chuckled and squeezed my hand in his. I stared at our hands entwined.

"This feels…" he muttered.

"-Familiar," I said. "Yeah, it's been a while."

His forehead leant on mine, his blue eyes looking right into my brown ones. "Athena."

I smiled.

"And Hades."


	11. Sleepover At Aaron & Astra's

Piper

Persephone

Aaron and Astra's apartment was located near the highway. Patrick guided me into the lobby where we entered the elevator to take us up to the fifth floor. My heart was hammering fast – I'd started the night at a party full of older students, ended up in the bathroom with Hunter of all people and now I was going to stay over at Aaron's house.

With Astra.

And Patrick.

Two of the coolest students and Gods that could walk through Lincoln Academy. I wondered what Astra's room would be like in comparison to mine. I was still in that phase where I thought Hello Kitty was retro and posters covered my walls. Looking at Astra, I doubt she would have had the same. She probably never even went through that phase.

"Hey meathead, we're back!" Astra called out as she opened the front door.

The hallway was small but cosy, with the living room to the left and possibly the bedrooms to the right. It was open plan. Paintings of the sun and moon decorated the walls, with a few statues that their parents had picked up from their travels around Europe. Small potted palm trees and flowing white curtains surrounded the French doors out onto the balcony that could be entered from the living room.

I had taken it all in in under ten seconds.

Aaron came through with that hat still on his head. He looked surprised to see me.

"Oh! Hey Piper. How you doing?"

He reached out and gave me a welcoming hug. Dear God, he smelled good. In fact, they all smelled good. Maybe it was a God thing.

Astra kicked her heels off, going down in height to 5'8. "Come on Piper, I'll get you some pyjamas. Aaron, make us hot chocolate."

"I'm not your bitch," Aaron said, picking at his hair in the mirror with a frustrated look on his face. I could see why he was wearing the hat in the first place – it was incredibly blond.

"AARON."

"Aww man!" he groaned. "Fine, but I'm only doing it for her!" he asserted, pointing to me. Astra smirked and led me away from the hallway.

Her bedroom was average size. I was right in saying she didn't go through a Hello Kitty phase – but she did have a thing for galaxies. Glow in the dark stars were stuck up on her ceiling and her white curtains had the faint glitter of the cosmos. A beautiful half- moon was painted in silver above her bed, just above the headboard.

"Your room's amazing," I couldn't help but say. Astra smiled. "Thanks! I like my moons and stars, as you can probably tell!" She winked and pulled out a pair of checked pyjama bottoms and a red vest top. "Here, wear these."

So far, being at Aaron's and Astra's was pretty good.

Alexandria

Aphrodite

The cab driver dropped me off at my door, with a parting goodbye of, "Whatever happened, it will sort itself out."

I was sure that would happen…

My body was aching. My bones were heavy. I just wanted to hibernate forever. Trailing up the porch, I opened the front door, careful not to wake the parents. The dog, Clonkers, came out of the living room and nuzzled my knee. He always knew when I was upset.

Which, by God, I looked. Staring at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I had to say I looked like hell. My makeup had ran all over my face. My eyes were swollen from tears.

Hayden had pretty much broken up with me.

He was the only boy I ever let in.

Ever loved.

The realisation hit me full force. I hibernated on the bathroom floor till seven am, until my father walked in and got the fright of his life seeing me curled up on the cold tiled floor with Clonkers.


	12. Hayden Loses It

Piper

Persephone

Waking up in my own bedroom seemed dull and boring in contrast to waking up in Astra's. Astra and Aaron's house was a buzz of activity in the morning – Aaron played some Drake in the kitchen as he set about making pancakes and toast and bacon. Astra had a penchant for waking up early and taking 2 hours to get ready. With the amount of makeup and hair equipment she used on a daily basis, I was surprised she didn't actually take longer.

As she showered, I wandered into the kitchen were Aaron was turning the bacon and Patrick was rapping along to Drake. "_Break it down like you working for your tuition at Howard, Mama, get it how you live, that thang that you working is power!"_

"Morning sunshine!" Aaron greeted me as I sat down at the breakfast bar.

"Hey Aaron," I said nervously. I was still feeling incredibly starstruck in the presence of these people. They were the popular kids at school, the ultimate Gods of Olympus.

"Want some bacon? Pancakes? A little OJ?" he offered.

"Jesus, A, give the girl a chance to get some energy to answer your questions," Patrick joked, taking a break from rapping and swigging from the carton of Tropicana.

"D'ya mind using a GLASS?" Aaron groaned, frowning in disgust at Patrick drinking from the carton. Patrick rolled his eyes and took a glass out the cupboard.

"Um.. I'll have some pancakes and juice please?" I said politely. Aaron nodded. "On it!"

_Where Have You Been _by Rihanna started to play from the iPod dock. "Oh man, Rihanna. The things I would do to her…" Patrick mused, before blasting into a rendition of the song. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEEEEEEEEEN?!"

"Patrick is quite , erm, musical in the mornings.. some would say camp," Aaron deadpanned.

"Hey, shurrup!"

Aaron laughed. "Of course, he's totally in love with Ava, but hey…"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"AM NOT!"

"Dude, you so are. You're on the swim team with her. You see her in a bikini all the time."

"Actually, the girls wear full on bathing suits. No bikinis."

Aaron sighed. "What a waste. I bet their bodies are amaaaazing."

I cleared my throat.

Aaron and Patrick laughed at the same time.

"Sorry Piper," Aaron said. "Two guys, what do you expect?"

Ava

Athena

I woke up Monday morning at 7.30, before the maid could call me. I was going to beat her this time. I trailed past the statue of Athena as always, examined my reflection in the mirror, washed and brushed my teeth, ran a comb through my hair, sighed, walked back to my bedroom –

To find Alexandria sitting on my bed.

"OHMYFUCKINGGOD!" I shrieked.

She didn't even flinch. She just looked up at me with her brown eyes. They were bloodshot and it looked like she hadn't slept for days. Her usually perfect wavy hair was in knots.

"A-A-Alexandria?"

She nodded. "I, um, wanted to go to school with you this morning. The maid let me in. I brought you muffins from the Magnolia."

She nudged a paper bag, obviously containing the muffin, towards me on the bed. I ignored it.

"What's wrong babe?"

She blinked. "Nothing."

"You never go to school with me. You show up in your Cadillac twenty minutes late, looking like you've stepped out of a beauty salon."

"I don't look like that today?" she said, sarcasm dripping in her voice.

I let my eyes drop. I shouldn't have said that. Her appearance right now was not important. It was her behaviour.

"Honey. What's happened?"

I stared at her, willing her to answer.

Alexandria burst into tears.

Patrick

Poseidon

"Cutting it a little fine, eh Ava? Nearly late!" I joked. Ava got out of her chauffeured car and glared at me. "I have my reasons."

"Such as?.."

She reached into the car. I stepped forward, curiously. A slender, tanned hand reached out and took hold of Ava's. Alexandria looked up at me as she stepped out. "Hey Patrick," she muttered.

"Alex.. What's happened?-

"-Don't even ask!" Ava snapped. "It took me ten minutes to get it out of her. Let's just walk. We're taking her to her locker."

I nodded, knowing when to shut up. Alexandria looked… awful. Hair all mussed up, eyes bloodshot – like she'd been crying too much. She wasn't even wearing her trademark denim shorts. Instead, it was jeans with Uggs.

She looked so fragile.

Ava let Alexandria walk ahead slightly, still holding onto her hand. She leaned over. "Nate gave her a hickey at Danny's party, Hayden found out and broke up with her. He was angry. He kicked her out his house."

"Shit!"

Hayden was usually such a calm, cool guy. He was nice to everyone. He never got angry. He and Alexandria never fought. We reached Alexandria's locker and I watched her fumble around in her bag for her combination. "Oh shoot, I know it's here…" she mumbled, her cheeks turning red. I reached out and took her wrist. "I'll look for you," I murmured. She looked into my eyes. Hers were wide. She didn't know how to act this morning.

I found her combination and got her locker open. As she handed me her folders, making extreme small talk with Ava, a hand thumped me on the back.

"Trying to get into Alexandria's pants are we?" Nate laughed. "I tried, let's say it didn't exactly work. How's the neck babe?" he said, winking in her direction. She looked set to burst into tears while Ava had the most lethal death stare going on imaginable.

"Hey Hayden! Looks like Pat's trying it on with your girlfriend!" Nate called out. Oh shit.

"Shit," Ava swore.

Hayden. Hayden had chosen that moment to walk past us. Well, not past us anymore. Nate's remark had stopped him in his tracks.

Alexandria

Aphrodite

Hayden had Nate up against the lockers in an instant.

"WOAH!" Nate shouted in surprise. He clawed at Hayden's fists which were holding him up by the collar. Hayden was the strongest guy in school, obviously cause of the Hercules factor, but also because of his constant training at the school gym. "Dude, let go!" he said, laughing nervously. This only made Hayden force him up against the locker even harder.

"Don't even think about joking with me after what you did with her the other night," he snarled.

"Hayden, it's not like I slept with her. Come on, man. It was just a hickey-"

Hayden banged him further into the metal. "You shouldn't have done ANYTHING with her. She was my girlfriend."

The "_was" _part stung.

Nate smirked. "_Was_? Okaaay, looks like Lexii is open market!" he hollered. I could feel my nails digging into Ava's hand, and if it hurt her, she didn't let on. I jumped as Hayden's fist connected with Nate's jaw.

"YOU DON'T CALL HER THAT! THAT'S MY NAME FOR HER. NOT YOURS!" he yelled, punching him more. He kicked him in the stomach, causing Nate to crumple to the floor. "GET UP! GET UP YOU FUCKING LOSER!"

A crowd was already watching. I could hear Ava whispering in my ear – "It's okay, it's okay..."- trying to soothe me. I wasn't listening. All I could do was watch Hayden continue to tear into Nate, his eyes streaming with tears of anger. Patrick grabbed Hayden, trying to pull him off. He was joined by Aaron and Danny. It took three of them to break away one Hayden.

He wiped sweat from his upper lip. "You're a fucking bastard," he spat. Nate collected himself from the floor, his nose bleeding.

"You made my nose bleed-"

"If you don't watch out, that's not all that'll be bleeding!" Hayden yelled, pointing a finger in his face. "Stay away from her. Avoid me."

The crowd parted as he turned to walk away. He looked at me. His eyes showed hurt. I reached out my hand. "Hayden"-

"Don't," he whispered. He was right in front of me. All I could see was him as I looked up into his eyes.

"Please…"

He leant his forehead down onto mine, his eyes locked on mine. It was only us, no one else in the room. It was our moment. We were touching. I could so easily kiss him, his lips were right there.

Until he wrenched himself away from me.


	13. Danny's Perspective On The World

_Danny_

_Dionysus_

Sitting in English class, I chewed my pen as I didn't pay any attention to what Miss Kaldaki was talking on about. It was definitely something about Gatsby, but it wasn't registering..

I felt a bit at fault for what happened with Hayden and Alexandria. I mean, I was the one who held the party in the first place. If I hadn't, nothing would have happened between Nate and Alexandria.

But then again, no one asked her to let him suck her neck.

Lucky boy.

I'm a God at throwing parties. Obviously I am a God, but seriously. My parties are awesome. My guests are catered for and everything, the girls get fucked, I get fucked, we fuck each other. It's a good time. That's pretty much why I'm a popular guy. I'm a nice guy, sometimes. But not enough to be popular. I'd say I'm good looking, the girls I hook up with seem to think so. But I know my parties can't be beaten.

It's my family that enable me to have these parties. My parents are in good jobs – mom's the director of the modelling agency _Angel _while dad's a defence lawyer. When I was born, they set up a trust fund so I could get into college/support myself as an adult. Not that I needed help with the funds, we've been rich all my life. I can't touch it until I turn eighteen, which is in two months. Can't fucking wait. The parties come into it because thanks to my parent's salaries and excess, I can hold parties whenever and they can afford to pay for any damage done. Like my bed being broken by accident.

Mine and Carly Jefferson's fault, I'll admit.

My attention snaps to Hayden, who walked into the classroom. Man, he looked beaten down. His punch up with Nate was the talk of the school, and it was barely 10am. Now Hayden's a good guy. Dependable, fun, pretty good looking. Whenever we're out for drinks, the supply of girls that we get is endless. But Hayden wouldn't take them. He loves – _loved?_ – Alexandria too much.

Heh, more for me.

A freshman came into the room and handed a note to Kaldaki. She frowned. "Daniel, you're to go to the principal's office."

AWESOME. OUTTA HERE!

_Ava_

_Athena_

"My trust fund's getting frozen."

We stared at Danny. "Wh-Wh-What?" Patrick stammered. Aaron could only sit there, mouth open like a fish.

"B-But… why?" Patrick asked. The boy looked just as upset as Danny did. Danny raised a hand and let it flop down to his side. He was speechless.

I coughed. "Your parents?"

He nodded. "Um… they say they don't trust me with it. Apparently I spend too much of their money on parties. Which I think is totally untrue and unfair and unreasonable, and they are denying their son of his need to party and have a good time. I mean, I'm HAPPY. Happiness is healthy. They want me to be healthy right?!"

His voice was getting higher in pitch the more he spoke. "They want me to wait till I'm TWENTY ONE!"

Patrick's head dropped down onto the table in his hands. A wail came from his palms.

"So… where are we meant to party?!" Aaron asked. Danny shrugged. "Go to a club? Fuck knows. It's New York. New York is so fucking _tiny._"

This is Danny, child of splendour and riches, ladies and gentleman.

A leather bag hit the table and I looked up to see Astra sitting herself down beside Aaron, her black eyeliner rimmed around her eyes like a raccoon. "Hey guys. What's the shit?"

"Danny's trust fund is getting frozen…" Patrick whispered, with actual _tears_ in his eyes.

"WHAAAAAAT?!"

"I KNOW, RIGHT?!" Danny yelled. "I was gonna get it in two months! I could have held tons of parties!"

I sighed and took a bite of my apple. "Guys, don't you think maybe we're being a bit overdramatic?"

They all stared at me.

"Get away from my table," Danny said.

I laughed.

"Ava, I'm being serious."

"Okaaaaay!" I yelped, gathering my stuff and scuttling away before he could erupt.


	14. Failing

_Hunter_

_Hades_

My antics from Danny's party seem to have been forgotten, thanks to the Nate/Alexandria/Hayden drama. Thank the fucking Lord. Now I could just be invisible again and have no one talk to me. Good. That's the way I like it. That's the way it's supposed to be.

I hadn't seen Piper since. Maybe she'd been avoiding me, or maybe she was just good at being invisible too. All I knew was I had officially freaked her out and there was no way in the world she would ever associate with me again.

I guess that's a good thing? Cause that means I could finally get over this weird thing I have for her and actually be all badass again. I swear, the romantic, angsty guy act is getting old.

I had drifted off in History class towards the last fifteen minutes. To be fair, I hadn't been paying any attention since I sat down at the back of the classroom. No one sat near me. It was just the empty row in front of me I had for company. The sound of the bell brought me back to earth and everyone hurried to shove their stuff into their schoolbags. I was one of them, until Mrs Conrad stopped me.

"Hunter, I need to speak to you please."

I sit down at her desk, banging my knees off the front of her desk. I'm a tall guy, my legs are long. School should really cater for us six footers.

"I've noticed you haven't been paying attention in class today," she began.

I nodded.

"And the class before that."

"Yeah…"

"And the class before that."

"Conrad, what's your point?"

Okay, that might've been a bit rude.

"First of all, it's Mrs Conrad to you. And my point is, your constant lack of attention is resulting in a lack of good grades. The essay about women's suffrage that you handed in two weeks ago, three days late, only gained a D. _A D. _It's as if you don't care? DO you care? Or am I just wasting your time by discussing this with you?"

I sighed. "Conrad – _Mrs _Conrad- I do care. It's just… I guess I can't really apply myself."

She nodded. "I guessed that. Well, prepare to apply yourself because you're getting assigned a tutor."

"A WHAT?!"

"You heard me. A tutor. A fellow student who is doing, by far, brilliant compared to you. Hunter, I refuse to have you fail. I can tell that underneath you have potential if you just tried. I mean, I heard from Mrs Kaldaki that the recent eulogy you wrote for her assignment was very creative. Death, romance, hidden secrets. She awarded you a B+ - "

"For real?!"

"Yes. I wasn't supposed to tell you until you'd seen the grade for yourself but I know for a fact that you ARE clever. It's just in my class… you don't seem to take any interest. I won't have you failing."

I guess I had to hand it to Conrad – she cared a lot about her student's work.

"Plus a failure in my class brings down my end of semester score."

Okaaaaay, maybe she didn't.

"You'll meet your tutor today at lunchtime in the library-"

"But-"

"NO EXCUSES. Do it. I expect at least a B in your next assignment."

I trudged on my way to the library, ready for the next most boring, mindnumbing hour of my life.

The smell of old books hit me as soon as I walked in. And a voice.

"Hey Hunter."

"…You're my tutor?"

"Seems like it. Sit down."

I threw my notebook on the table and slumped down next to Ava.


	15. Every God Has Enemies

_Patrick [pos-ei-don]_

"AW MAN, COME ON! LET ME WIN!"  
>"Win yourself, you pussy fart."<br>"Fuck you man."  
>I was beating Aaron's ass on Xbox. He sat with his knees up to his chin, his fingers moving over the controllers, desperate to get at least one point compared to my 17.<br>I tried not to pay attention to the sighs coming from Hayden, who was sitting on my left. It had been three days since he beat Nate's ass –_literally_- and he hadn't snapped out of the depressed stage yet. To be honest, I couldn't blame the guy. He and Alexandria had been pretty serious – they'd met each other's parents, she had been the only girl ever to set foot in his dad's Newport beach house. He had told me, in secret, that he had fallen in love with her after their fifth date. That was how much the girl had meant to him.  
>I don't know what possessed her to let Nate suck on her neck. First, it was in public. Second, she cheated on my boy. And third… well, I guess she was drunk. Very drunk. I tried to help Hayden see the positive: she didn't sleep with Nate. It could've been a lot worse. Hayden refused to accept it.<br>They're both my friends and I care about them. I want them to get through this shit.  
>The phone rang out in the hallway. "Not getting it!" Aaron shouted.<br>Hayden slowly dragged himself up from the couch and went to answer it. My attention distracted, Aaron finally managed to gain a point.  
>"YES! FINALLY!"<br>He whooped and hollered. I laughed, deciding not to burst his bubble by letting him know he still lost like a sucker. "Right man, let's order pizza. I'm thinking jalapenoooo…." He sang.  
>"Guys."<br>Hayden looked serious.  
>"Yeah man? Pass the phone, I wanna order pizza," Aaron said.<br>Hayden shook his head. "Ava's house. Now."

_Aaron [Ap-oll-o]_

I was craving jalapeno pizza. Desperately. I made a mental note to order it at Ava's, no matter how serious this thing was. It sounded serious. Hayden looked more depressed than ever.  
>Into Hayden's car we went, but music wasn't allowed to be played. So no one spoke. Hayden wouldn't say what was wrong, but to be honest, he's quiet these days. No prizes as for why.<br>Poor boy.  
>Ava's front door was unlocked and we followed Hayden into the living room. Everyone was there.<br>Ava – obviously.  
>Astra.<br>Danny.  
>Alexandria – awkwardness would be a main dish at this affair between her and Hayden.<br>Hunter.  
><strong><em>HUNTER?<br>_**Oh, and Zachariah.  
>Erm, he's Ava's dad.<br>Athena's dad, Zeus.  
>Yeah… this was serious.<br>We squidged up next to Ava, who took hold of Alexandria's hand when Hayden walked in. Hayden didn't look at her, and he made sure not to sit beside her. He sat on the far edge of the couch, next to where Hunter was leaning against the fireplace, arms crossed. Astra sat cross legged on the floor, biting her black fingernail. Danny had a glass of untouched whiskey in his hand.  
>Zacariah sat down heavily on the old armchair. We all looked at him.<br>The senator of the state, Zacariah Thessalonata is a powerful man. He is a man of tailored suits, cigars and chauffeured cars. He works 15 hours a day. He opened an animal shelter. He is currently campaigning for an outlet that holds a hospital and recovery centre. He holds massive parties. He has a Black Card. He is Danny's hero.  
>And Ava tolerates him like every teenage daughter does.<br>"I've gathered you all here today to share with you some news. Um, alarming news if you will…"  
>We didn't blink. No one could take their eyes off him.<br>"The Adficio are back."  
>Shit.<p>

**_Ava [at-hen-a]_**

My eyes widened as I listened to my father.  
>"What do you mean, the Adficio are back?" Patrick asked, his face stricken.<br>"They have been planning this for years. Wait till they are strong and then find us. Attack when they are at their most powerful."  
>I closed my eyes. I could hear the screams. The crying. The sound of flames.<br>_The Adficio are a group of Greek Gods, cast out by Olympus for their heinous crimes. Sent down to the Underworld, they became the slaves of death itself – take the souls of dying humans and transport them down to the world below. Hades had watched over them, even he judged them for the crimes they had committed in their pasts. However, years of this sentence made them more bitter than ever and they began to KILL human beings that did not have death on their paths just yet. Murderers of the innocent. It became clear that the more they killed, the stronger the Adficio became. As they grew stronger, the more they began to be a threat. Hades eventually had them locked up, along with the Chaos that Zeus himself had imprisoned ten years before. There was never any question that the Adficio would break free and rise against us – and even if there was, we down on earth living as humans by the time a threat could even be recognised._

There is a little history lesson for you.  
>Everyone was obviously alarmed by this news. "But they were locked up!" Danny said. "They were imprisoned! They can't have got out! Unless…" his attention turned to Hunter. "Unless this runt of the litter let them go free."<br>Hunter was away from the fireplace in an instant, ready to hit him. Only Hayden's strong arms pulled him back.  
>"Come on, Hades was the guy who watched over them! HOW ELSE?" Danny continued, inching away from Hunter's flying fists. I stood up. "Danny, shut up. There is no way Hades would have let them go free, since he was on earth by this point as HUNTER."<br>I should make it clear to you that we refer to each other's God personas as a different person. Yes, they were us originally, and they are still a part of us. BUT, we are new people now. The past is the past. We don't judge based on their God's character. Hades and Hunter are different people now – in my opinion. Others, like Danny, obviously doesn't think so.  
>My dad raised a hand. "Shut up everyone. Okay. Yes, they are back. No, Hades did not let them go free. They got out themselves. Now we must plan. We need to be ready. They are not just coming for us. They are coming for humans everywhere. They're coming for the <em>world<em>."


	16. YO, FACE CHARACTERS

**We Are Legends**

**Face Characters**

_OKAY. So I found images online of the face characters but they cant be shown here :( so you just have to imagine. Anyway, I wanted to show what I imagine the characters to look like and be like, plus give an idea of what to expect in the upcoming chapters! I probably should have done this at the very start but the idea didn't occur to me. By the way, I haven't put a face character for Patrick because I just CAN'T think of anyone to be him... so be imaginative! I'm sorry if these ideas don't match your expectations - I hate it when I imagine someone totally different but if this is the case for you, then don't read this :) but for those of you who fancy seeing who I see as the face characters, plus also want to have a hint on what will be happening with them - a few of you want a Hunter/Ava pairing... ;) - then read on and please, REVIEW! Let me know whatcha think! _

Ava (Athena) played by Mila Kunis

_Age – 18_

_Hair colour – Black_

_Height – 5'8_

_She is the toughest girl of the Olympus group. Not one to back down easily, she will defend herself and others if needed. Mature for her age AND eons, she is like a mother figure to her friends. In We Are Legends, she is particularly caring towards Alexandria, who goes through a hard break up, plus is surprisingly sympathetic to Hunter's feelings for Piper. Ava is the most popular girl of the school, girls want to be her, guys want her. She gets on well with boys, not just as romantic interests, and can often be seen in the canteen jokily insulting them. She is in the swim team and constantly says she is better than Patrick, just to rile him. Patrick holds a secret torch for her, not that she is ever aware. She wants the Adficio destroyed, once and for all._

Alexandria (Aphrodite) played by Shakira (i know she's not an actress but her face is literally what ive had in mind the whole time)

_Age – 18_

_Hair colour – Blonde_

_Height – 5'9_

_Alexandria is the beauty. A goddess in name and appearance, she is wanted by all boys. A figure to die for, she knows it, which is why she often wears tiny denim shorts and camis. Girly and extremely aware of her beauty, she uses her looks to her advantage when it comes to her behaviour – however, this is just a façade as she is in a relationship with Hayden who her heart belongs to. Hayden is the only boy to ever see past her looks and see the girl underneath, something she is truly grateful for. Their breakup hits her hard and she tries desperately to get Hayden back, even terrifingly endangering herself in the fight against the Adficio to help him. _

Astra (Artemis) played by Mary Kate Olsen

_Age – 18_

_Hair colour – Blonde_

_Height – 5'9_

_Astra is the eccentric one out of the lot of them. A lover of all things gothic, she is always seen in killer heels and corsets. Partial to piercings such as flesh tunnels. She is Aaron's twin, and although they look similar, they are so different. Astra is sarcastic, quick witted and doesn't hold back on insults. Her love of darkness will serve her well in the Adficio uprising, as she proves she is more than capable of fighting their black magics._

Piper (Persephone) played by Allison Williams (Marnie in 'Girls')

_Age – 17_

_Hair colour – Brown_

_Height – 5'5 _

_Piper is the only non-Goddess in this set up. Quiet, shy and timid, Piper is always out the spotlight and prefers to be backstage. She idolizes the Gods, particularly Ava, yet is intimidated by their popularity and beauty. She finds herself tangled in their group after Hunter's obsession with her goes too far._

Hayden (Hercules) played by Alex Pettyfer

_Age – 18_

_Hair colour – Blonde_

_Height – 6'2_

The only demi-God of the group, Hayden could be an outcast but instead, he is very well accepted for his actions as a God back in Olympus. The star quarterback (yes, this cliché), Hayden is hailed for his sporting talents. He is the friendliest guy and his love for Alexandria is obvious for all to see. Hayden is the only one to call her by a nickname – Lexii. When he breaks up with her, he is heartbroken and becomes a shell of the man he is supposed to be, which only upsets Alexandria further as she still tries to reach out to him.

Hunter (Hades) played by Stephen Strait (watch the film 'Sky High'. He's the FLAME BOY. Or just look him up, he's hot.

_Age – 18_

_Hair colour – Black_

_Height – 6'0_

The outsider of the group. His past as Hades will forever follow him, painting him as the 'evil' one. However, under the mean, dark persona, Hunter is sensitive and harbours a love for Piper that he is trying to get rid of. He can't handle his drink. Ava unexpectedly looks out for him, leading to confused feelings. Hunter is determined to beat the Adficio, as a way to prove he is not the 'evil' God he once was.

Danny (Dionysus) played by Ed Westwick

_Age – 18_

_Hair colour – Brown_

_Height – 5'11_

Danny is the partier. A hedonist, he adores drink, gambling and girls. Reckless and irresponsible, Danny lives up to Dionysus' hedonistic character. However, he is the main champion of the Greek Gods and is keen to uphold their history. This war with the Adficio will help him show he can be a serious warrior, not just a reckless boy.

Patrick (Poseidon)

_Age – 18_

_Hair colour – Dark blonde_

_Height – 6'0_

A champion swimmer at Lincoln Academy, swimming is Patrick's thing. He is a good friend, and is always seen by either Aaron or Ava's side. He has a secret crush on Ava, but will never tell her.

Aaron (Apollo)played by Mitch Hewer (Maxxie from Skins)

Age – 18

Hair colour – Blonde. VERY blonde.

Height – 5'10

Aaron is the kid. He is a joker, playful and hates his blonde hair. It is unclear whether he or Patrick are the main guys but Aaron often gets the most attention out of the two. He wants the war to destroy the Adficio and is one of the main players in the game.


	17. Battle Plans

_Hunter [had-es]_

Zachariah's news about the Adficio had shocked us all to the core – particularly me. I was the one who had locked them up. I had seen their true evil as they slaughtered millions of people. It got too much. Sure, I was God of the Underworld but even I knew too much death when I saw it. Danny's belief that I had released them myself angered me – pissed me right off. If that douchebag thought he could say that shit about me, he was wrong.  
>But I had other things to think about. Pretty much trying not to fail history this semester. I was actually reading the books now, Ava had drummed it into my head that I needed to learn. The sudden dedication to studying? It took my mind off Piper.<br>So I turned up to our Wednesday session, prepared.  
>Ava opened her notebook to reveal mindmaps.<br>Of war.  
>Our war.<p>

"Ava? That's not history."  
>She looked at me with those deep green eyes of hers. "It's our history, Hunter."<br>I sighed. "Fine. Whatcha got so far?"  
>She spread out a huge sheet which was covered in doodles and boxes and arrows. "We split into teams, based on strength and compatability. So, group 1 – me, Aaron and Patrick. We're the closest out of everyone, in terms of group, and we know how to sense each other's moves. Group 2 – Danny, Alexandria and Hayden-"<br>"Woah, wait. Alexandria and Hayden? Are you crazy? They'll never go for that."  
>Ava bit her lip. "Alexandria would…" she murmured. "She loves Hayden. And Hayden, though he may not want to be on her team, it would work for all of us."<br>"How?"  
>"Because… they both love each other, still. They won't want to see the other hurt, so they will fight their best if they're looking out for each other."<br>I sat back, with a smirk. "You're using their feelings for each other as a battle device? God, you're cold-"  
>"I AM NOT!" she thundered. Her face had changed to a fury that only her father, only <em>Zeus<em>, could have. "I love them both! And it sucks that I have to watch my best friend go through this so don't you dare suggest I'm using their feelings as a way to ensure an easy win for us! DON'T YOU DARE!"

_Ava [at-hena]_

The thing was, Hunter was right.  
>I knew it would work. Hayden and Alexandria would not want to see the other hurt, so putting them on the same team would ensure they had to work together. Their dedication to each other would only fuel our chances of defeating the Adifico. I felt sick when I even came up with the theory. I was a bad friend. I was asking Alexandria to work with Hayden, the love of her life who wouldn't even talk to her anymore. But I knew them being in the same team would help our cause. I needed the Adficio destroyed. I was truly Athena.<p>

"So who's the next team?" Hunter asked, clearly wanting to get away from the sore topic.  
>I cleared my throat. "You and Astra."<br>He blinked. "What?"  
>"You and Astra. You are the only Gods to know true darkness. Astra is Artemis, the moon is her symbol. You are the God of the freaking Underworld, you know death-"<br>"But we never speak! How do you expect us to look out for each other?!"  
>I groaned. "You have to. You will automatically do it. You will see the Adificio and feel such hatred that you want them gone – and Astra is your teammate. You have to work together."<br>He sighed and finally nodded, accepting it. "Fine. A weird combo but fine…"  
>"You're not that different actually," I said with a slight smile. "Astra is… clever when it comes to the dark magics. I know you haven't dabbled but you've seen death-"<br>"Please stop saying that."  
>"But you have-"<br>"I'm more than that. Y'know, maybe I'll try really hard in this war. Just to prove I'm not some evil, twisted guy. I may have been Hades once but I'm also Hunter Snow."  
>He flung his notebook into his bag and stormed out the room, his heavy boots hitting the floor hard as he went.<p> 


	18. Lovers Embrace

So it seems there is now a war about to happen! My last few chapters got some new reviews and all of them were positive, so thank you :) now this chapter is going to be a special one as a NEW GOD is going to be introduced. WHO? WHOOOO? Read on my Olympians.

Ava [At-he-na]

"Interesting ideas…"  
>I rolled my eyes as my dad looked over my newly drawn up battle plans. He licked a forefinger and flipped to the next page. "You've done drawings… who's that?"<br>"Aaron."  
>"…Bit generous there with his… erm, middle area."<br>"That's his ARM."  
>"Right, right!" He coughed and put the sheets of paper aside. I had spent 12 hours in total drawing them up, perfecting them to be exactly what he would want.<br>"I like it so far. But-"  
>"But." I groaned. Typical. My dad, the fricking perfectionist.<br>"You've forgotten someone quite important."

"Oh God. No way. You're kidding. Dude, you're kidding," Danny panicked. He turned to Patrick. "Pat, do something!"  
>Patrick shook his head. "Nope. Her dad's right. We need this guy."<br>"But he's… scary."  
>I raised an eyebrow. "But you talk to Hunter."<br>"Pah, I can take that little pussy!" Danny said. "He'd be like 'don't touch my leather…'"  
>I had to admit, it was a spot on impression.<br>"Patrick, you on for this?" I asked. He nodded, a slight smile on his lips. "I like this side of Ava. She's… badass."  
>"No, my dad is badass. I'm just the one he's enlisted to get this guy."<br>"Lucky you."  
>"If I had someone come with me…" I hinted. Patrick turned white. "FUCK NO! Get Alexandria. No one can say no to her." I shook my head. "Have you SEEN here lately? She's a shell of herself."<br>Danny grimaced. "Pretty sure she hasn't showered in three days."  
>I would stick up for her but I think he's right.<br>I sighed and shut my locker. It was 9am Monday morning. I did not want to go see Adam Dematrio.

I smelled him before I even saw him. The smell of cigarettes –or weed, whatever- hit me as I rounded the corner of the back building. He was slouched against the wall, smoking and talking to a friend.  
>I cleared my throat. He turned and looked at me, before turning back to his friend. "Yeah, cool bro…"<br>My heeled boots clicking, I marched over to the two boys and poked Adam in the shoulder. "Adam?"  
>He sighed. Looking at his friend, he made a face and said, "Be back in a second, man."<br>He followed me round the corner and settled against the wall, arms crossed.  
>Now Adam is not what you would picture as a typical God in a human form. Black Doc Marten boots – fine, Hunter wears those. That's normal. Adam's ripped jeans, that's cool. A checked blue shirt, open over a white vest, normal too.<br>It's just the shoulder length blonde dreadlocks, piercing green eyes and tattoo on his bicep.  
>A tattoo of fire breathing horses leading a chariot.<br>Ares's symbol.  
>That's why I needed Adam. I needed the God of War on my battleplan.<p>

He stubbed out his cigarette on the wall. "They're back? The fucking Adficio are back?"  
>Did I mention he has LOVELY language?<br>"Yes Adam. They escaped. They're on their way to us, stronger than ever. We're building our teams and we need you."  
>"Cause I'm Ares, obviously.." he said sarcastically.<br>This is the thing with Adam. He has changed completely. He no longer seems to think about our past or his old self, Ares. He is now a dreadlocked stoner boy who skips class and doesn't attend our parties. If you think Hunter has exclusion problems, you should look at this guy.  
>It also doesn't help that he USED to be a friend. See, he and Alexandria used to go out. I use that term loosely. More like fuck each other senseless and watch a movie or two. This was before she obviously began dating Hayden and fell for him hard. Anyway, they broke up and things were cool, but he soon started saying he didn't want to remember our past and we could all just leave him be now. At first we thought he still liked Alexandria but then we remembered he broke it off with her and was off fucking other girls like a week later, so that theory was dead in the water.<br>"Look Adam, I need you to help us. If we had you… we'd be unstoppable. You go to the gym right? You like fighting? Come on!"  
>"I see nothing in it for me."<br>I stared at him. He shrugged. "Can I go now?"  
>"What, so you can go get high and be a loser all your life?!"<br>He smirked. "Pretty much, babe."

Patrick [pose-idon]

"He is INFURIATING!" Ava wailed, throwing her bag on the table and sitting down heavily on her chair.  
>"No luck, huh?" I asked.<br>"_I see nothing in it for me_," she said in a weird voice that I guessed was supposed to mimic Adam. I resisted the urge to laugh. When she sets her mind on something, Ava is unstoppable. It's one of those things I love –  
>I <em>like <em>about her.  
>"Why not just share a joint with him…." Alexandria mumbled, playing with the spoon that hadn't touched her yoghurt. She had barely said a word since she sat down ten minutes before. Her hair was up in a messy topknot and her face was scrubbed clean of makeup – she was a natural beauty but it was weird seeing her not care about her looks since Hayden. Her eyes were red rimmed, a now common occurrence.<br>Ava glared at her. "No Alexandria. I will not turn to drugs in order to convince him."  
>"I meant so you can just chill out and stop being so serious," Alexandria said in a low voice, still playing with her spoon. She didn't care – or maybe was unaware- that Ava looked close to punching her.<br>In a tight voice, Ava strangled out, "We are going to have a war, Alexandria."  
>The blondie nodded slowly. "Yes. So I say you chill out for now."<br>"Since when did you condone drugs?!"  
>Alexandria rolled her eyes. "I don't."<br>"You probably smoked one when you had that fling with him," Ava said, bitchily. When Ava gets stressed, she becomes a bitch and you must hide for cover. Alexandria didn't care enough right now to hide for cover.  
>"I did, yeah. It smelled gross but it helps."<br>"I'm organising our BATTLE PLAN. FOR GOD'S SAKE, QUIT BEING SO ANNOYING LEXII!"  
>My heart went up a hundred throbs. Ava looked like she wished she had kept her mouth shut. Alexandria was staring at her, eyes wide.<br>"I meant, Alexandria. Not Lexii. Alexandria. Your name's a mouthful sometimes, " Ava stammered. But Alexandria was seeing red and was already standing up, shoving her jacket on. "Don't you dare ever call me that name again. NO ONE call me that name again!"  
>I stood up, reaching for her. "Alexandria babe, it's okay-"<br>She pushed me away. "No it's not. I'll just leave you and the warrior queen to make more fucking battle plans." She flung her bag over her shoulder and turned quickly – walking right into Hayden.  
>That old cliché.<p>

Hayden [Her-cules]

I hadn't been looking where I was going and now I was looking into the face of a barefaced, very upset Lexii.  
>I mean, <em>Alexandria.<br>_Her eyes widened and blinked too much. She was panicking. Whatever had happened at the table with Ava and Patrick had obviously been made worse by my appearance. "Hay-Hayden," she breathed. I gulped, trying to ignore the fact I had heard her say my name like that in more… intimate times.  
>"Lex- Alexandria," I croaked out.<br>Fuck. Hearing me say her name, her true name, not the nickname I always called her by – it tore her up. Tears welled up in her brown eyes and she shoved past me, wanting to leave.  
>I am such a fucking idiot.<br>Patrick was looking at me with a pained expression. Ava looked bored. "Hayden," she said. "Now is the time to fucking go after her." 

I caught up with her outside the school, just as she was opening the door to her Cadillac.  
>"Wait up!" I shouted. She stopped, rigid, before turning to look at me.<br>I don't know why I had followed her. I had nothing to say.  
>Except maybe how beautiful I thought she was, even without makeup. How her smile lit up the room. How when she walked, people turned and stared, not just because she was Aphrodite but because she was gorgeous and had that aura that drew people to her like magnets. How she giggled at Chandler's sarcastic jokes in <em>Friends.<em> How it made me love her more when she cried at that advert about the lost dog. How she would bake cupcakes and throw bits of flour at me in the kitchen, turning it into a food fight. How she would pick some stupid zombie film to watch, saying it would be funny for shits and giggles, but ten minutes in would turn to me and say she was bored. How when she was bored she would kiss me. How her kisses tastes like candyfloss. How her body on mine felt as kisses got deeper. How her already big hair would clump and get bigger as my hands would grab hold of it. How her breathing got intense. How she would whisper she loved me in my ear. How I loved it whenever she told me she loved me.  
>Before I could stop myself, my lips crashed against hers. She let out a protest which was swallowed up and choked back down. I expected her to push me away - but she didn't. Instead, her hands wrapped round my neck, her long fingers in my hair. I could feel hot tears from her eyes slide down her cheeks, melting onto mine. She was crying. "Don't cry," I murmured, deepening the kiss even more. "Don't fucking cry over me." We kept kissing and she tugged at my bottom lip with her teeth. "I'm crying over you whether you like it or not," she whispered shakily. God, I loved her. I pushed her further back until I picked her up, her legs round my torso. We ended up in the Cadillac.<br>"Hayden, we're outside of school," she managed to say. I ignored this. I needed this, right now. I had missed her. Her fingers found my shirt and pulled it off, before she ran her hands down my chest. I closed my eyes, savouring her touch. Kissing her neck, her chest, pulled her sweater off, kissed her bellybutton. Things were getting more heated. We kissed more, our hands grabbing at each other, wanting to touch every last part.  
><em>Every<em> last part. She let out a breath as I touched her and she unbuckled my belt.  
>It happened. I could feel her fingernails claw down my back and I could feel her naked skin under mine as we moved and kissed. My fingers tangled in her hair, sweat starting to form on my forehead.<br>"Oh I love you, I love you…" she murmured.  
>I kissed her collarbone, circling her neck with my lips.<br>Until I felt hot flashes and I could see Nate doing the same thing with her neck. Nate Beaumont, kissing her neck. My Lexii's neck.  
>It was just too much- I had forgotten. But now it was all rushing back and I couldn't ignore it. I could hear her cries of lust as we kept doing what we were doing but all I could picture was her and Nate.<br>I know they didn't have sex. But the fact she had even let him touch her…  
>I pulled myself off her. "NO!" I shouted, tears now falling down my cheeks. I was that upset. "I can't- you and N-N-Nate. I CAN'T!"<br>I pulled my clothes back on, in this limited space in the Cadillac, trying not to listen to her sobbing.  
>"FUCK YOU HAYDEN! FUCK YOU!" she was shouting through her sobs.<br>Each 'fuck you' hit me hard and it killed me. 


	19. That Bambi- Strapped- To -A- Van Look

_Patrick[Pos-iedon]_

Ava grabbed me just after the bell rang signalling the end of school.  
>"Patrick, I need your help."<br>I groaned. "Not with Adammmm…-"  
>"YES WITH ADAM! DOES NO ONE CARE APART FROM ME? SERIOUSLY?"<br>I raised my hands in defence. "Fine, babe. I'll go talk to him. Where is he?"  
>"Probably outside getting high…" she muttered in a venomous voice. I resisted the urge to laugh. She had been so wound up about this all day. Adam had refused, point blank, to get involved in our war. Thing is, he was the vital weapon we needed. Us Olympians not having the fricking God of War on our side? How weak would that make us look?<br>I trudged outside, out the school gates. I clocked him almost instantly. He was accepting something from a tiny girl, who looked about fourteen. I reached his side and cleared my throat. The girl turned red and hastily hurried away.  
>"God Patrick, quit scaring off my clients…" Adam said, taking out a joint – nope, on closer inspection it was just a genuine cigarette. Hard to tell with this guy – and lit it. I sighed. "Adam, Ava sent me-"<br>"Didn't know you were her bitch," Adam chuckled, taking a draw. I ignored his insult. "I'm her best friend. She wants you – we ALL want you – on our side. Please Adam. I know you hate the Adficio as much as the rest of us."  
>He shrugged, a blonde dreadlock swinging back over his shoulder. "So what if I do? I'm not a God anymore. I'm a guy, who lives in Brooklyn, who has to travel to school every day by subway with a MetroCard, unlike you pretty people with your chauffeured cars and unlimited bank accounts. I only have five dollars in my wallet right now, thanks to that scrawny girl you scared off – luckily after she made her purchase."<br>"What's your point?"  
>Adam stared at me. I felt quite intimidated if I'm honest – he was well built, tall and I could see why girls may find him attractive. Good bone structure. Hey, I'm a swimmer, I notice bone structures.<br>"My point is… is that I've moved on. I have a new life. I'm a 19 year old dude. I'm not Ares anymore. So I say, sit back, smoke up and forget your non-existant troubles and live for now."  
>I blinked. The guy was surprisingly deep..<br>"But if we don't stop the Adficio, we won't BE living anymore!"  
>He sighed. "Okay Pat- what will you give me in return? I need motivation, a reason for doing this-"<br>"Our lives are motivation enough!"  
>"Meh, not entirely. Give me something I can't say no to."<br>My heart sank. I couldn't offer him anything. Unless…  
>"I have money. You say you only have five dollars – I'll give you triple digits."<br>"No, man."  
>"What? Why?!"<br>"I'm not a materialistic guy."  
>"Fine. Help with tuition? Ava tutors –"<br>"I might skip class but I do have some brain cells, man. Though Ava is a sweet piece of pie."  
>I stopped. Oh God. I couldn't. No. It would kill me. Ava would kill me. I gulped.<br>"I'll get Ava to go on a date with you-"  
>"Jesus! I'm not some 12 year old! I can get girls." He was laughing at me now.<br>"Please Adam. Any girl you want, I'll get her for you. I'm on the swim team, they love me as it is, I can easily persuade them."  
>"The answer's no, man. I appreciate your efforts but I'm not doing this."<p>

_Ava [ath-ena]_

"Fine, I'm doing this."  
>I broke out into a grin and resisted the urge to jump on him. Adam stood there in front of us, looking like he was approaching a death sentence. "Thank you Adam! Ohmygod, you have no idea what this means!"<br>He rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Ava."  
>He sat down and put his legs up on the table. I nudged Patrick. "What did you do to convince him?!"<br>Danny cleared his throat. "Little Patrick here couldn't get a simple yes from him. I had to take matters into my own hands."  
>I frowned. "You? YOU? What did you do?!"<br>He smirked. "I might've called your father, explained the situation… Adam may have received an angry phone call with threats to lightning his ass up, who knows."  
>I smiled. Danny could be okay sometimes. "Why did you do that?"<br>"Ava, you know me. I always uphold our history. The Adficio are part of it and are they HELL coming back and kicking our asses."  
>"Thank you Danny," I said, still shocked.<br>Patrick cleared his throat. "So, battle plans? You gonna show us anytime soon?"  
>Adam placed his feet back on the ground. "Yeah, lemme see them."<br>I blinked and hastily handed him one sheet. He stared at me. I handed over the other five. The guy made me nervous.  
>He looked over them, no emotion on his face. We all watched him. Aaron nervously bit his fingernails. Astra clenched her apple. Danny just looked pleased with himself.<br>"Okay, I like it so far. Except-"  
>"Except?!" I cut in.<br>He looked at me, unamused. I shut up.  
>"Except you put me in your team, with Patrick and Aaron. No."<br>"What? Why? What's wrong with us?!"  
>He sighed. "I'm the God of War. Look, I get that you three seem to think you're the gifts of the Gods so you want the best team, but that's not how this is going to go. I'm better off in this team – with Hunter and Astra."<br>"…But you'd be sidelined?! You aren't the first team to face the Adficio. You start your shit close to the middle, we might be gone by then-"  
>"Ava, for fuck's sake," he interrupted with more than a hint of impatience in his voice, "I'm the God of fucking WAR. I know my shit here. You may sit up there on your highhorse all fancy because you're Zeus's daughter but here's some honesty for you sunshine – I know my shit better than you. I know about battles, I know about terror, I know about murder. You may know about strategies and wisdom and all the fucking stuff, but I know how to cause complete and utter anarchy. You put me with Hades, the god of the fucking UNDERWORLD who was the one to actually lock up the fucking Adficio in the first place, and Artemis, goddess of the moon and darkness, OF COURSE I should be with them. We three are the darkest ones out of all of you! Hunter and Astra know their stuff, that's obvious. But with the three of us –we're indestructible. So I suggest princess, that you take this battle plan back and do some rearrangements."<br>Silence. I actually wanted to cry. He was right – he was so right. PRINCESS?! He handed me the sheets and I shoved them back into my bag, out of sight. Patrick nodded, a look in his eye asking if I was okay. I nodded back but really I felt like a child again.  
>"Oh, and you can take that 'Bambi watching his mother get shot and strapped to a van' look off your face. I may have been threatened by your father to help you but that doesn't mean I'm going to let your order me around and act like you're the fucking shit. If you want to win this thing, you need to listen to me."<br>Throwing his bag over his shoulder, he stood up and walked away.


	20. Something To Feel Alive

_Adam [ar-es]_

What the fuck have I got myself into?  
>I don't like these guys. I planned to just stay away from them and now I'm getting involved in their shitty battle plans. I gotta laugh – Ava's mind maps could do with some work. Today had been stressful. As well as getting forced into their stupid war, which I didn't want to partake in at all, I was failing. At everything.<br>Yeah, everything. Even gym.  
>Don't think it's cause I suck at sport. It's cause I can't be assed going to <em>play <em>sport. I'm never gonna be one of those guys who needs to know the football score or if the Knicks are playing next week. I prefer to just sit back, smoke up and let the good times come to me.  
>Brooklyn is home. Not the Upper East and West. I'm not into that shit. I hate the glitz and glamour that these kids at school seem to be covered in. I swear to God, Alexandria walks into that place looking like she woke up with her hair and makeup already done for her. Ava too, actually. But yeah, me with my dreadlocks and ripped jeans don't really fit into Lincoln Academy. And I like that. <p>

"Hey Adam."  
>Megara is sitting on my window ledge, her long legs dangling down. In her hand is one of my joints. I had just rolled it that morning and had been pretty excited to come home and smoke it. With a smirk, Megara placed it between her lips and took a long draw. She knew I had been wanting to smoke it.<br>"You stealing my goods again, Meg?" I said, dropping my bag onto the floor and opening the window to let some air in. My mom hates the smell of weed. She knows I do it, she knows she can't control me, but she knows I respect her enough to at least open a window.  
>Meg's fingers looped through my belt loops. "I'm borrowing without permission, there's a difference," she purred. I laughed. Meg was good fun. She was wild, reckless, didn't give a shit about anything. I looked at her. "That's just a fancy phrase to say you're stealing."<br>She rolled her eyes and let her fingers trace the holes in my belt. "Potato, pitata," she answered, her golden eyes glittering. They were a deep brown with flecks of gold – so I say she has golden eyes. Kind of like an owl. I took the joint from her fingers and took a draw, before looking straight into those golden eyes and blowing the smoke into her slightly open mouth. She inhaled, her fingers tightening on my belt.  
>"Y'know what I'm craving, Adam?" she murmured, her eyes now gazing intently into mine.<br>"What?"  
>"Something wild, ferocious. Something to make me feel alive."<br>"I don't sell those pills anymore Megara."  
>She smiled coyly. "I'm not talking about pills."<p>

Ten minutes later, her body was interwined with mine, her chest heaving under my chest, her skin smooth under my fingers. The belt had come off within seconds. Sweat formed on my forehead, dripping a little onto her neck as I kissed her collarbone. "Oh God, oh _god,_" she groaned, before letting out a gasp as I continued pushing inside her. Her fingernails dragged against my back – I knew they were drawing blood. The lust we had for each other built up more, as my hands grabbed sections of her black hair, her legs wrapped around my waist, pulling me into her more.  
>Her groans had now turned into screams of ecstacy and they served to make this the most ferocious sex we had ever had. I needed her right there, right now. I pulled her up, lifting her slender body against the wall above the bed, until I was standing and her legs were still wrapped round me. Meg grabbed hold of one of my dreads, crying out with her head thrown back. She was so close. I was so close. We moved faster and deeper, nothing could stop this, nothing-<br>"Well you could've at least waited for me."  
>Meg's head fell into the crook of my shoulder, weary and not acknowledging the fact that Allegra Watson was standing at my door. I sighed. Meg kissed my neck before pulling away from me, then sat on the bed, not caring that she was naked. "Well you could've at least knocked," she replied.<br>Allegra raised an eyebrow. "I did. Twice."  
>I cleared my throat and began to pull my jeans back on. "Adam baby, why so embarrassed? I've seen you naked before," Allegra laughed. I shrugged. "Yeah but I'd rather wear clothes right now. Common decency, you know?"<br>Allegra waved a hand and tossed a lock of blonde hair over her shoulder. "Since when did you get morals? Jesus. Gimme a smoke," taking the joint that me and Meg had hastily discarded.  
>Would girls please stop smoking my stuff?<br>Meg sniggered. "He hates that we do this."  
>"Using him," Allegra added, mockingly.<br>Meg got up behind me and wrapped her arms round my shoulders, before kissing my neck again. "Using and abusing him."  
>"Honey, from what I saw, he was the one abusing <em>you<em>. Jesus, he was pounding so HARD!" Allegra shrieked. Meg burst into a fit of laughter. She was still naked by the way.  
>"So in class today, this dumb bitch was like 'I wanna be Miss America!' so I made sure that would never happen," Allegra said. Meg frowned. "How?"<br>"Punched her in the face."  
>Meg let out a howl. "God I love you!"<br>Allegra winked. "Girls like that deserve to be punished. Taught the basic lessons of life. Lesson number one- defend yourself and try not to get punched in the face."  
>I could feel Meg's fingers circling a trace round my collarbone as she sat behind me on the bed. I was trying to ignore it but my god, it was hot.<br>"Look at you guys, can't stop can you!"  
>I ignored Allegra. Allegra was like Meg but worse – Meg had some feelings. Allegra was stone cold. Just like her skin when my body was on hers three days ago.<br>She took another draw of the joint before passing it to Meg. "So Adam. I hear you're part of Ava's group now. Care to give us the deets?"  
>Meg choked. "WHAT?!"<br>I groaned. "There's a war and I've been roped into it… the Adficio are back."  
>Allegra raised an eyebrow. "Really?"<br>"Yuh huh."  
>"And you're Ares… God of War."<br>"Exactly."  
>Meg hit me on the shoulder. "So where do we fit in?!"<br>"Um.. .Ava hasn't mentioned you guys."  
>Allegra's eyes narrowed. "You're fucking kidding me."<br>The door burst open.  
>I groaned. Tina was in my room now. She threw her bag on the floor and strode up to me, her high heels pounding on the wooden floor, her black and purple streaked hair flowing. "You're part of the God's battleplan and you didn't TELL US?!"<br>Yeah, I'm friends and occasional fuck buddy of the Furies.


	21. Necessary Allies

_So we've now introduced the Furies, what did you guys think? Seriously, I appreciate all feedback. Over time, more characters will be introduced, I'm just doing it gradually so we can get to know these new characters first. Anyway, I've got a feeling this story is improving as I write it, now there's an actual storyline… yeah, I improvise as I write, I really don't plan it. So please carry on reviewing, it's always lovely _

_Piper [per-sep-hone]_

I am sitting at Ava's table.  
>Repeat. I'm sitting at Ava's table.<br>With Alexandria on my right and Patrick on my left.  
>In the middle of the canteen… everyone can see me. The girls in my English class are staring as they whisper to each other. Girls in my year don't sit with Ava and her friends.<br>But I am. Patrick had called me over when I entered the canteen.  
>It's been a month since I was first taken into their outer circle and now it's as if Ava has accepted me enough to be allowed into the inner core. Not like I want to – but it is nice to feel included. Especially now there's a war going on. I remember the Adficio and the carnage they wrecked on earth. Homes went up in flames, people died… the Gods had worked hard to stop it and now the cretins were back.<br>Obviously, I wasn't part of the battle plans – I really didn't mind. I was happy to just sit and listen to Ava and Patrick argue about strategy, while Aaron would spit paper bombs through his straw at Patrick's head, causing him to blow up occasionally. Alexandria just doodled on her notebook. She was now wearing natural makeup, so minimal concealer, eyeliner and eyelashes curled by a curler. Her hair was still messy, gathered up in a topknot. She was wearing Seven jeans. She hardly wore shorts and cami's anymore. I would ask how she was but she still seemed pretty down, so I left her to it. I didn't want her to get upset and get Ava to cast me out the circle.  
>Not that Ava would be so mean. But I really didn't feel like being rejected.<br>Hunter occasionally hung out with them, if only for ten minutes to talk about the war and bitch about Miss Kaldaki. I could sense him all the time now – the sound his boots made on the floor, his smell which was like timber wood and incense. A guy smell. He would make sure not be near me, often sitting opposite or a few chairs away. I found he sat beside Astra a lot, but that was mostly because they were on the same team in the battle plans. Like now, he rocked up. He rolled an apple on the table and sat beside Astra, who stuck her pierced tongue out at him. He smirked and then glanced at me, before reaching for his apple and biting it. The crunch seemed to echo.

"Hey Ava."  
>We all looked up.<br>_Ohmygod.  
><em>Allegra Watson, Megara Catanna and Tina Diaz were standing at our table, staring down at Ava. Ava gulped.  
>Now these girls, you didn't cross. If you walked in on them in the girl's bathroom, you backed the hell out. If you got in their way in the corridor, expect to be pushed to the side. If you announce that you want to be <em>Miss America,<em> like Tiffany Woodall did yesterday at lunch, expect to be punched in the face by Allegra. Tiffany got a burst nose and lip and is now in talks with her mom's plastic surgeon.  
>They also look scary. Allegra is clearly the leader – she's tall, slim and blonde haired. Her eyebrow is pierced and she often wears ripped skinny jeans with over the knee heeled boots. She looks like Olivia Wilde back in her OC days.<br>Megara is the beauty of the group. Petite and slender with voluminous black wavy hair and feline eyes, she's one of the prettiest girls in the school. A small tattoo of a snake is on the inside of her wrist which is decorated with bangles. Out of the three of them, she seems to be the most chilled out, except a little more slutty. Today she was wearing a white lace slip- dress, _a la_ Britney Spears in the _Everytime_ video, laced tights and black stilettos. It was slutty/boho.  
>Tina has straight black hair with purple streaks. Her eyebrows form a perfect arch and her tongue is pierced. She's wearing a ripped band tee, cut off above the navel to show a bellybutton piercing. Denim shorts, bare tanned legs and black suede slouch boots complete her gothic look.<br>"Um… what do you guys want?" Ava asked, trying to remain calm and collected.  
>Tina raised an eyebrow. "What does it look like? To be part of your battle plan."<br>Ava looked at the table. "I don't think that's necessary but thanks anyway."  
>Allegra frowned. Slowly, she placed her hands on the table and leant down, so she was eye level with Ava. "Oh I think it's necessary."<br>Patrick drew back, but Ava stood her ground. "Can I ask why? It's not like you to take things so seriously. I mean, aren't you Adam's groupies?"  
>I noticed Megara bite her lip and turn a little pink. Danny noticed too, smirking, but stopped when Megara saw and glared at him with venom.<br>"We hang with Adam occasionally, yeah," Allegra admitted. "But we do know that he's the god of fucking war. We are Furies. We like punishment. We_ thrive_ on this kinda shit. So give us it."  
>Ava was silent.<br>"If you don't, we'll make your life pretty difficult in these halls," Tina added coolly. "We get that you think you're the fucking Queen Bee around here but let's face it sweetie – you're just not. Adam even had to fix your battle plans for you.-"  
>"<em>Hey,"<em> Ava finally snapped.  
>All three of them smiled, but not in a nice way. Megara cleared her throat and stepped forward. Danny was making it blatantly obvious that he was staring at her Britney-esque outfit.<br>"Honey, you need the Furies on your side. Otherwise, you're gonna bomb."  
>"We've got Adam. We also have Hunter, he can deal with death-"<br>"Pah, not anymore I can't!" Hunter broke in.  
>Megara smirked. "Interesting. So your own God of the Underworld, master of the dead, can't even deal with the one thing he was assigned to all those years ago…"<br>Okay, maybe I was wrong. Maybe Megara is a bit of a bitch, not chilled out at all.  
>Ava bit her lip and looked at the others. Patrick slowly nodded. Aaron groaned and waved his hand away, a silent yes.<br>"Fine. You're on our side. But if you do _anything_ to fuck this up-"  
>"Huh, like what?" Allegra asked.<br>"I don't know, maybe getting a little high while on the job or trying to make babies with Patrick-"  
>"HEY!" Patrick protested.<br>"Ava, you underestimate us. We'll be the best goddamn things in this war," Allegra said, now completely serious. Ava nodded, now choosing to trust her warily.  
>"Fine. Sit down. Catch up on what we've got." <p>


	22. A LITTLE NOTE ABOUT HUNTER

_Just a little note:_

_I keep getting mixed up about what I imagine Hunter to look like.  
>When I first started this story, I imagined him to look like Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a hint of Alex Pettyfer when his hair is slicked back.<br>However, as I've carried on, Warren from Sky High – the guy with the fire- has been in my head. He's got long dark hair and is beautiful (look him up. RIGHT NOW. DO IT. IF YOU LOVE HUNTER YOU WILL DO IT).  
>But as a result, I often switch between his appearance. One minute he has blonde hair, the next he's got dark. I know this is stupid to get worked up about but it's bugging me because I don't want to add confusion or have someone review saying "Erm, Hunter is blonde at the start and now he has long dark hair…"<br>SO. From now on, he has long dark hair like Warren from Sky High. He also looks like Warren from Sky High. The only properly blonde dude in this fic is Aaron, and we know he hates his hair enough as it is. Anyways, that's all I have to say, please keep reading and reviewing, I love hearing what you think. This story has even beaten my Skins fanfic in terms of storyline and positive reviews, so I love writing it. _

_Erin xo _


	23. Not All Gods Are Safe

Right guys, I've got this great idea for this chapter, I'm armed with coffee and cookies, and I'm going to write! This idea has been in my brain for the past week and I've decided it's time to amp up the action. Please keep reading and reviewing, I love seeing what you think erin xo

Aaron [Ap-ol-lo]

It was Friday night, the evening of the Falcon's football game. Obviously, our group were sitting in the stands, there to cheer on Hayden, including Alexandria.  
>I had come prepared with snacks – popcorn, nachos, Oreos… hey, a guy has gotta eat right?! Ava looked at me with disgust. "God Aaron, where do you put all of that?"<br>"In my gut."  
>"You know what I mean. You don't even work out and you still manage to stay skinny."<br>"Hey! I'm not skinny! I'm a guy, give me some of my ego back please!"  
>Ava stuck her tongue out and I flicked a nacho at her.<br>"Hey guys." Patrick was making his way down our row towards us, trying not to step on anyone's feet.  
>"Bit late man," I said. Patrick grimaced. "Car went over a pothole on Jefferson Street. Weird considering the tarmac was smooth yesterday."<br>"Patrick Panettiere: soon to be road layer?" Ava smirked. Patrick rolled his eyes and sat down next to her. "Be nice Ava, this road layer got you cookies."  
>Ava grinned and held out her hand, which now got hold of a box of double chocolate cookies. "Thank youuuu!"<br>Patrick smiled. I couldn't help but want to puke. The guy's been in the friend zone for so long, he practically invented it.  
>"Aww man, the cheerleaders…" Danny groaned.<br>"God Danny, do you have to be such a perv?" Ava asked. Danny didn't even hear her , he was too busy ogling.  
>"When does the game start?" Alexandria asked in a small voice. She'd been awfully quiet the past few minutes. "Erm, now actually!" I told her. She gave me a tiny smile. I reached over and squeezed her hand. The girl had been through enough with Hayden, and now she was going to have to watch him play his game. She hadn't wanted to come – but Ava had forced her out of her bedroom, which she had been hibernating in the past two days, skipping school completely. Right on schedule, the whistle went and the trumpets blared, signalling the start of the game. The cheerleaders did the backflips and cartwheels, as the players now entered the field, their game faces on. Hayden, as QB1, gathered the Falcons around him and shouted at the top his voice: "WHO ARE WE?"<br>"FALCONS!"  
>"I SAID, WHO ARE WE?"<br>"FALCONS!"  
>"WHAT ARE WE TO DO TONIGHT FALCONS?"<br>"DESTROY!"  
>High fives were exchanged and the game soon started.<br>Daniel, the fullback, rushed up the field and caught the ball. As the crowd cheered, the game continued, with passes being made. Hayden was tackled at one point, causing Alexandria to flinch but she said nothing.  
>"COME ON!" Ava screamed. She got seriously into her sports when she needed to.<br>Alexandria nudged me. "Aaron-"  
>"One sec Alex – GO FALCONS!"<br>Okay maybe I got into my sports when I needed to too.  
>"Aaron-"<br>"YES, GO HAYDEN!" Ava hollered. Patrick was standing up with her, both of them going crazy.  
>"AARON!"<br>"WHAT?"  
>Her face was deathly white. "Look at the sky."<br>I frowned and looked up.  
><em>Ohmyfuckinggod.<br>_That was when the firebomb hit.

Ava [at-hena]

"HAYDEN!"  
>All I heard was Alexandria's bloodcurdling scream.<br>Patrick jumped on top of me, shielding me from any wreckage that could be a result of this meteor thing, that had now shot from the sky and down on the field, throwing the football players away from the ground and causing a huge black hole. Flames had been left as the air filled with smoke. Parts of the stands we had all been sitting in were blown to pieces.  
>Each audience member had run as soon as it blasted. Screams had filled the field.<br>"Is everyone okay?!" Patrick shouted, looking around at our group. Danny nodded shakily. Aaron was holding onto a sobbing Alexandria.  
>Was Hayden okay?<br>Numb, I stood up and surveyed the now destroyed pitch. The footballers were now picking themselves up, blood streaked and dirt over their faces. But they were fine.  
>I saw Hayden help Matthew to his feet. Hayden was okay.<br>I was okay.  
>Until I saw a face in the smoke. In the actual smoke. The smoke had made a face. And it was of a skull.<br>"G—Guys… We're going to my house," I said, taking authority.  
>"Is Hayden okay?!" Alexandria cried.<br>"Yes, he's fine babe! Just come on!"  
>I felt Patrick's breath in my ear. "Did you just see that skull?"<br>Great to know I wasn't imagining things.

Patrick [pos-eidon]

"It's the Adficio. They've started."  
>We all stared at Ava's dad.<br>"Aww fuck," was all Danny said. It summed up our feelings perfectly.  
>Everyone was gathered at Ava's house, just like last time. I was having a Scotch, as was Hunter. The event had shaken us, clearly.<br>Hayden was sitting on the floor, his leg outstretched with a cold compress on it. He had been injured when the firebomb hit and was limping a little. Alexandria was perched on Ava's lap. Both their hands were intertwined with each other's, a form of protection.  
>"That firebomb was the beginning of their crusade. The time to act is soon at hand. You've got your battle-plans, now you need to start training," Zacariah told us.<br>"Swear to God man, that firebomb was lethal," Adam muttered. He was sitting with the Furies, particularly with Meg, whose legs were hoisted up over his.  
>"Where are we even going to train, dad?" Ava asked. "It's not like we can do it in public. We're the only Gods in this damn city."<br>Hayden cleared his throat. "You can use my house. We have a gym and a conditioning room."  
>Astra wrinkled her nose. "What the F is a <em>conditioning room<em>?"  
>"It's where you work on your stretches and muscles," I said. "It works."<br>"I'm sorry," Hunter cut in, "but who the hell is going to train us? It's not like any of us have even done this before in modern day. We have no weapons."  
>"Actually, you do," Zacariah smirked. "Ava, sweetheart, get the chest from my room."<br>Ava's eyes widened. "C-C-Chest? But you never let me look in there. It's sacred."  
>"Now you need it the most."<p>

The chest contained every kind of weapon known to mankind. Swords, guns, flares, whips… _everything_. It even had healing potions, which Astra was over like a rash.  
>"Dude, this one has coconut and Hybernia flower! It gets rid of deep wounds in thirty seconds!"<br>There was a book inside too. A huge ass book. 1474 pages about weapons, enemies, what to do in times of crisis, all relating to the Olympians.  
>Hayden pointed at a picture. "What's this?"<br>Ava leaned over and read the longwinded description. "The Catanna is the most lethal weapon that can be used against you. A long white cylinder shape, it may look unassuming but it must be avoided. When used against a God, a blue light will navigate its way out of it and consume its target – inside and out-"  
>"What the fuck?" Allegra interrupted. "What does that mean?"<br>Ava frowned and read silently. Suddenly, she threw the book down.  
>"Okay, no need to be dramatic," Adam smirked.<br>Ava glowered at him. "The Catanna? Yeah, it destroys your immortal soul and once you're human, it kills you in five minutes flat." 


	24. I'll Be Under Him By The End Of The Week

Ava [Athena]

"Right guys! Basic training! Get up, NOW! Danny, get up. Now. DANNY MOVE YOUR FUGLY ASS-"  
>"Aiight, aiight!" Danny groaned, getting up off the floor. I rolled my eyes. We had made a rota of who would train the group for each day. My day was Monday. Which was shit, because nobody could be assed training for this war on a Monday.<br>Even though it's a war.  
>Tomorrow, it would be Adam, then Wednesday would be Patrick, then Hayden before Astra led a mediation session on Friday morning at 7am to calm ourselves and to focus.<br>I had made a circuit around the gym. Hayden had offered us his house to use, as him being the quarterback meant his parents took his career very seriously and wanted him to attain a football scholarship, so a gym and 'conditioning room' were already installed.  
>The first circuit was crunches, the second was weights, the third was the treadmills, the fourth was the rowing machines. Basic cardio.<br>Alexandria was doing good on the first circuit – she had abs like stone as it was so 1000 crunches weren't going to hurt her. Hunter was doing weights with Patrick and Adam, while Astra running her ass off with Aaron on the treadmill, yelling insults at him as he ran on the treadmill beside her.  
>Hayden was on the rowing machine, surrounded by Meg, Allegra and Tina, who were "taking a break" by sitting down provocatively nearby and staring at him.<br>"If those sluts keep looking at Hayden like that, I swear I'm gonna throw down," Alexandria muttered in my ear as she settled down beside me, picking up a set of small weights. I resisted the urge to smile. She was finally talking normally again, no longer sitting in a corner not speaking to anybody after the whole Hayden drama.  
>"If you do, I'll be right behind you. You notice Tina pour water from her bottle on her face earlier in a bid to look seductive?" I asked. Alexandria sniggered. "It looked ridiculous."<br>I stretched into the splits. My day of training was easy for the start of the week. It was Adam's I wasn't looking forward to.

_Adam [ares]_

"COME ON YOU PUSSIES!" I shouted.  
>Ava shot a death glare at me then she punched Patrick in the face.<br>My training schedule involved fighting techniques. So far, Patrick was getting his kicked. Mainly because he wouldn't hit Ava.  
>"I CAN'T! SHE'S A GIRL!" he wailed.<br>"PATRICK PANETTIERE! QUIT BEING SUCH A VAGINA AND FUCKING PUNCH HER IN THE FACE! SHE'S KILLING YOU!" I yelled.  
>I could see the guys laughing out the corner of my eye and smirked. I was liking this leader crap.<br>Patrick threw his hands up. "AVA, STOP!"  
>"AAAAAARGH!"<br>She roundhouse kicked him in the gut. He crumpled to the floor. The girl of his dreams had destroyed him.  
>Oh yeah – I know the dude's in love with her. It's so fucking obvious man.<br>"Right, next pair – Alexandria and Tina. You're up."  
>Alexandria and Tina took their places on the mat . Tina shot a seductive –I can only assume this because she raised her eyebrow and licked her lips - look over at Hayden, her flavour of the month.<br>Aw shit.

Alexandria [Aphrodite]

I was on top of her before I could fully register what I was doing. Her hair was in chunks in my hands and I was banging the back of her head on the mat.  
>"OHMYGOD, ALEX!" I could hear Ava shouting.<br>Tina clawed at my arms. Anger and frustration had taken over me. She had been looking at Hayden for the past three days and flirting suggestively constantly. She had even asked him to help her stretch, which involved her pressing her ass into his crotch while he looked on embarrassed.  
>"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" she yelled. I ignored her, banging her head still. Until she reached out and punched me. I fell to the floor and she was on me now, her hands choking my neck.<br>This was serious.  
>Adam was shouting at her to get off me. I could see Hayden standing up, shock on his face.<br>"You really think he's gonna take you back after all you put him through, little slut?" she whispered in my ear. "Really? Ha. I'll be under him by the end of the week."  
>"Then you know nothing about him," I snarled, throwing my hand up and hitting her in the throat. She choked and I took the chance to kick my legs up and kick her away from me. When she landed, Adam grabbed her.<br>"Let me go, Adam! The little bitch started it!"  
>"Sit the FUCK DOWN!"<br>I got up from the mat and numbly went back over to Ava. Her mouth was open, agape. To be fair, so was everybody's. Adam cleared his throat.  
>"Okay… no fighting techniques for the girls then!"<p>

Meg [Megaira] 

Sweat trickled down my forehead as I hit the punch bag. _One, two, three, stop. One, two, three, stop.  
><em>It was 2pm and I was still training. Adam was smoking a joint outside. Everyone else had gone. After Tina's bust up with Alexandria, everyone had decided to head home. It was a mood killer to say the least. Hayden had football practice.  
>"You're doing pretty good on that thing," Adam commented as he wandered back in. I punched the bag again then turned to him. "You think so?"<br>"Yeah. Maybe if you changed your movement a tiny bit, then you'd be perfect."  
><em>I'd be perfect.<em>

"Show me?"  
>Adam sighed. "Fine but I'm really baked right now so I won't be a good teacher."<br>I smirked and moved aside to let him at the punch bag. "Basically, you get your fist and move like this."  
>I copied.<br>"No no, like this."  
>He took a hold of my arm and guided it through. His fingers were hot against my skin and his touch tingled. I looked up at him. He smiled lazily.<br>I reached a finger up to a dreadlock and curled it round my fingertips. I could smell the weed on him. I could see the slightly glazed look in his eyes. His hands ran down my arms, probably to let me go. But they stopped on my hips. "You look pretty today," he told me, kinda childlike.  
>That was it.<br>I threw myself up into his arms and he pushed me against the wall. Our lips crashed together as we kissed hungrily. His hands were under my vest, moving upwards until they came full circle and onto my breasts. "Oh God, Adam," I breathed. I felt his lips curl into a smile against mine and he pulled my vest off, exposing me. I let his eyes wander until I could stand it no more and pulled him against me, forcing his t-shirt off. His six pack rippled against my hands.  
>We were on the floor now, him on top of me. The mat had been used for fighting – this was far from it. He pulled my shorts off and dug his fingers into my hips, bringing them up. Looking into my eyes mischievously, he kissed my hipbones and let his lips travel across my skin, underneath the lace of my underwear. The room flipped as his tongue spelled out words I couldn't read, words I couldn't hear and dreams I couldn't imagine. It felt so fucking <em>good.<em>  
>"Fuck me," I burst out.<br>He didn't need telling twice. His hands gripped onto the mat on either side of my head, his shoulders rippled and his hips jammed against mine as he moved along with me. He was always like this. He could be such a sweetie when he wasn't fucking me, but when it got down to it, he was a warrior. We were both so close to it. His dreadlocks were dripping with sweat. He kissed my neck as he pushed, harder and harder. I was so close. This was heaven. This was perfect.  
>I was there.<br>"I love you!" I screamed out before I could stop myself -and the reality of what I had just said crashed in. 


	25. Mannequin

_Piper [Persephone]_

"We need a girls night."  
>Astra was standing at the table defiantly, her hair in long ringlets, her eyes covered with black eyeshadow like a racoon. Ava looked conflicted while Alexandria looked pissed off – she had an ice pack on her hand after her fight with Tina yesterday. I hadn't been there to witness it but apparently Alexandria had started it and it had been crazy.<br>"Um… kinda too busy to go out and get drunk Astra…" Ava began.  
>Astra held up a hand. "I don't give a shit. We haven't been out in forever. Come on – a firebomb hits the school playing field, we're in a fucking war – alcohol is needed here!"<br>"Jeez you sound like Danny…" Alexandria muttered.  
>"Maybe Danny has the right attitude! Come onnnn! This Friday. We hit Geisha, have a few drinks, dance around, go home happy."<br>Alexandria sighed. "I'm game. Ava?"  
>"Fine, okay. Piper?"<br>I jumped at my name. The girls looked at me expectedly. "Wellll?" Astra said, curling her tongue. Her piercing flashed. I blushed. I've never been invited out by these girls. But I guess this was me now in the circle… I felt a feeling of acceptance. And nervousness.  
>"Um… okay. I don't drink though-"<br>"Virgin daiquairis, it's cool," Astra said quickly. "We can get ready at mine."

I was trying to shake the feeling of dread as I walked down the hall. I guess you could call them my friends now? I think? Just what if I acted stupid? Or wore something immature? That would definitely happen, especially if I was going out with Alexandria – no doubt she would wear a tight dress that only emphasized her perfect body. I had no tight dresses. I was so plagued with questions that I wasn't looking where I was going – and I banged right into the leather jacket.  
>Well, I banged into Hunter.<br>But he hates people touching his leather.  
>"Don't touch the leather!" he yelled, turning around. He stopped short. "Oh. Piper. Um, hey."<br>"H-Hi Hunter."  
>We hadn't spoken in three weeks. I know. Ridiculous.<br>"You alright? You look a little… peaked," he ventured. I cleared my throat. "I'm fine. Just a bit of a stresshead today."  
>We were walking down the hall together. How had that happened?!<br>"What's up?" he asked, running a hand through his long hair.  
>"Um.. well, the girls have asked me to go out with them on Friday."<br>"…And that's stressing you out because?"

I groaned. "I know, it's stupid.. it's just I've never been out before. Like, to a club. Ever. Especially with them."  
>"If you're still intimated by them, then why sit at their table?"<br>He had a good point. And I couldn't answer it.  
>"I.. I don't know. Anyway, I don't think I'm gonna go – I have no outfit plus I need to study for a Math test in two weeks-"<br>"Oh fucking hell, Piper," he cut in. "Quit being such a baby."  
>I drew in a breath. Hunter looked pretty serious. And, erm, angry.<br>"You have a chance to finally make some friends – don't say you have any cause I know you don't- and you're pushing them away before they can get to know you. The test? It's in two fucking weeks. That's no excuse. Outfit? Go out and buy one. Then grow a set of balls and fucking man up."  
>I didn't know what to say. I was beaten.<br>"Um Hunter-"  
>"What?"<br>"What do I wear?"

_Hunter [hades]_

Oh fucking hell. Someone just shoot me now.  
>I am in NyC, standing beside a mannequin dressed in a tight black dress. Piper is trying on the hundredth dress she has picked out.<br>Somehow, she had convinced me to go shopping. Her reason for picking me? We both had a free period and she needed my brutal honesty. I wanted to die. Not only were there girls here, but there were girls looking at me, with my leather jacket, ripped jeans and Doc Martens and general penis issue, and sniggering.  
>"Hunter?" Piper called out from the changing room. "You still there?"<br>I sighed. "Yes, Piper. I'm still here. Still standing here next to the fucking mannequin."  
>She came out.<br>Tight black dress, like the mannequin, and strappy silver heels. Except she wore it better than the mannequin - so much better.  
>"Erm.. how do I look?"<br>I couldn't take my eyes off her. She looked older, more sophisticated. The dress that looked slutty on the mannequin looked classy on Piper.  
>"You, uh.. um. You look-"<br>"I look bad, I knew it," she interrupted, getting all flustered. "I knew I didn't have the right body shape. I guess I'll just stick to jeans and a bandeau top-"  
>"You look phenomenal."<br>She stopped talking and stared at me, her brown eyes wide, her mouth agape.  
>I wasn't lying to make her feel better. <p>


	26. When The Cats Come Out

_When the cats come out the bats come out to play, in the morning after _

_The dawn is here, be gone, be on your way, in the morning after_

-_Morning After Dark_, Timbaland

Ava [Athena]

We didn't even have to queue outside Geisha. The bouncer, Lionel, saw me and the girls and beckoned us forward, much to the protest of the people already waiting outside. It was my father's status, as senator, that secured this luxury. "Have a good night, Ava," Lionel said, his golden eyes twinkling. I nodded my head and took hold of Alexandria's hand, who took hold of Piper's, who took hold of Astra's.  
>Geisha is a world to escape to on Friday nights. Obviously, it is Geisha themed – the bar staff wear kimonos, the shot girls who walk about the club wear tiny kimono dresses with silver heels that strap all the way up the leg and offer shots with names like Mizuage – named after a geisha's coming of age ceremony. Statues of geishas are dotted around the place, and suspended over the dance floor are cherry blossom trees, their petals sometimes falling down onto the dancing crowd below. The lights flash green, pink and yellow, and I see our usual spot in the Cherry Blossom Balcony is free. The balcony is for VIPs only, and has its own bar, waiter and chez lounge. Golden steps spiral up to it and we enter. Astra immediately grabs the waiter and asks for four Woo Woos and four shots of absinthe.<br>Yeah, Astra doesn't do anything by half measures.  
>Piper is looking pretty alarmed. I could tell she was nervous as soon as she greeted us outside Geisha – she'd been ten minutes early, poor thing. She looked hot though. That black dress and silver heels? I didn't think Piper could pull that sort of thing off.<br>I myself was wearing my pink bandeau dress with gold gladiator heels. Hair was loose and in big waves.  
>Alexandria had her hair in a pretty fishtail, and she wore a gold bodycon dress with silver strap heels. As usual, my girl looked perfect.<br>Astra was obviously dressed totally different. Purple corset encrusted with diamonds, black leather 'wet look' leggings and skyscraper black thigh high boots. She describes it as 'Gothic Slut'.  
>"Eww there's Daniel kissing Katie! She could do so much better!" Astra shrieked, looking down from the balcony into the crowd. She gave a holler and downed her shot. "C'mon Piper! Shot with me!"<br>Piper let out a little laugh but it wasn't a humorous one. She was tense.  
>"Piper," I called over. "Come sit with me."<br>She smiled gratefully and sat down beside me on the chez lounge. "You look hot babe," I told her.  
>"Erm thanks Ava… I love your heels."<br>"Ha I felt like being Roman tonight."  
>"Even though you're Athena?"<br>Ooh. "Sometimes we want to be other people for a few hours."  
>Piper nodded and knew when to shut up.<br>"Guys, let's dance, Timbo's on," Alexandria said. We all clasped hands again and made our way down to the dancefloor, joining the hedonists below.

Piper [Persephone]

Okay, I'm silently panicking.  
>I'm wearing a tight dress I wouldn't ever be seen dead in, having drinks I've never even heard of and dancing to music that I just can't dance to. Alexandria is dancing all seductively, like dropping to the floor, while Astra is doing her weird 'I'm a drugged up hippie fairy on too many absinthe shots' routine while Ava is just dancing… normal. I try copy her but it's so obvious so I quit and just move my feet.<br>"Piper, relax!" Ava shouts over the music.  
>"I can't dance!" I admit. Ava laughs. "SO? Neither can I! Watch!"<br>And I kid you not, she does the Robot. Yeah she's one of the most prettiest girls in school, and one of the most popular, but the Robot… makes anybody look like an idiot.  
>Together, we do the Robot and finally, I'm having fun.<p>

After an hour of dancing and drinking, I'm kinda feeling the effects of drunkenness. And I like it! These girls are fun! And so not scary!  
>"I AIN'T SOMALIAN BUT I DON'T LIKE SLEEPING ALONE!" Alexandria sang into my ear. Astra had requested <em>Morning After Dark<em> again and the DJ had played it once she stuck her tongue down his throat. I was feeling the need for fresh air so excused myself. People bumped into me and were laughing and drinking too much – this was a side of life I had never been a part of before. I smiled at Lionel who let me past and smiled back, and I stood over under the streetlight, exhaling the cool summer air. Everything was good-  
>"WOAH!"<br>Until somebody grabbed me from behind and knocked a punch into my temple so hard, everything that was good went black.

Alexandria [Aphrodite]

Somebody grabbed me and Ava, just as we were practically on the floor to 212. "AVA! ALEXANDRIA!"  
>It was Lily Woodall, a girl from my Art class. "Guys, Lionel needs you outside. He says something about your friend being taken-"<br>"Wha?" Ava turned to her. "Friend? Taken?"  
>"That Piper girl… PLEASE, COME SEE LIONEL!"<br>We grabbed Astra's wrist and rushed through the crowd to get outside. Lionel was looking really alarmed. "Hey girls. Look, your friend – I-I-I don't know what the fuck happened but one minute she was under the s-s-streetlight on Harper Boulevard and the n-n-next she was gone after I heard a scream. I don't know wh-what happened!"  
>"You mean she just disappeared after screaming?! You didn't run after her?!" Ava cried, now fully sober. I leant against the wall, trying to get to that state myself.<br>"I did but as soon as I turned the corner, there was nothing there! It was like she just went into thin air!"  
>"OH GOD! SHIT. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?" Ava shouted, gripping her hair in her hands. "I should've gone with her outside. Fuck. This is my fucking fault-"<br>"Its nobody's fault, Ava!" I cut in. "Don't blame yourself! We've just got to think!"  
>Somebody cleared their throat. "Is this about that girl who just got taken?"<br>We turned to see a tall, weedy guy behind us. "Yes, why?" Astra asked, her voice shaking.  
>"Cause I think I saw something."<br>Ava had him up against the wall in seconds. A crowd of gatherers went 'Ooooh!"  
>"What did you see?" she growled.<br>He plied her fingers away from his neck. "Firstly, its rude to be in my personal space- OW!"  
>She slammed him against the wall. "FUCKING TELL ME!"<br>"Okay okay! Basically, I saw a hooded person across the street just when she was at the corner. Hooded guy wearing jeans and boots."  
>"Right, so? Did you see them cross?"<br>"Well, no. I looked down to drop my cigarette and when I looked up again, he was gone."  
>"That gives us fucking nothing," I muttered.<br>"He had-"  
>"Had WHAT?" Ava sighed, exasperated. She knew this was a lost cause.<br>"He had a blue thing hanging from his belt. It was glowing."  
>We all drew in breath. The guy frowned. "Is that important?"<br>Ava blinked. "It doesn't matter. Thanks."  
>She strode off across the street and into the direction of Downtown.<br>"Ava, if that blue thing is what I think it is-" I began. Astra gripped onto my hand.  
>"It is what you think it is. That guy is an Adificio."<br>"WHAT? But why would he want Piper? It's not like she's even the strongest out of all of us!" I said, struggling to keep calm.  
>Ava whipped around and looked at me, dead in the eye.<br>"Piper is now bait."


	27. Stealing Athena

_So now this is over and the world falls upon me._

_I never expected to be here alone._

_The shadows are forming as we burst into flames_

_-_**If You Can't Ride Two Horses At Once...Then You Should Get Out Of The Circus, **Asking Alexandria

_Adam [ares]_

Monday morning and I just couldn't be fucked.  
>Genuinely, literally, couldn't be fucked.<br>Who made Monday? Who decided to have school at 9am on a Monday? I'll tell you who – some wise ass geek who thought 'Hey, I love learning and shit, let's make Monday the day of the fucking week and mess shit up!"  
>I'm not a Monday person.<br>I was outta stuff. I hadn't smoked all weekend. I was getting pissed off.  
>I entered the school gates and headed to my locker. There could be extra stuff in there. I always hide extra just in case of situations like this.<br>I rooted around – a guitar plectrum. A dirty magazine. Skins for my roll ups. Deodorant. An old English book I should really return to Kaldaki. No weed.  
>"Fuuck…" I cursed, kicking my foot off the locker below me.<br>"Wow, somebody's pissed off today."  
>Meg was leaning against the locker beside me, her arms crossed and her lips smirking.<br>My day had just gotten fucking better. Not.  
>It didn't help that Meg looked fucking stunning, as usual. Her hair was wavier and bigger than usual. A purple tie-dye crop top cut above her navel, denim shorts and flip flops. It wasn't her usual slutty attire, which was refreshing I guess. That was kinda shattered when I noticed the hint of a thong peaking up on her hips.<br>We hadn't spoken since she told me she loved me.  
>Granted, she had said it in a burst of passion while I was fucking her senseless. I know people can get carried away. But with her… I knew she had meant it. We'd been friends for years, been fucking for five months. She was the only one out of the Furies who I had actually had round for pizza, beer and movies.<br>Did I love her?  
>…No.<br>She cleared her throat. "You outta stuff?"  
>"Yeah."<br>"Sucks to be you."  
>"Ha, no kidding. Going kinda crazy over here."<br>She smiled. "I've got some, if you want?"  
>"Wait. You steal my shit all the time but you actually have some for yourself? Da fuck, man?"<br>I stuck my tongue out to show I was kidding. I could feel us gradually getting back to normal.  
>She punched my arm lightly. "Maybe you shouldn't have the best stuff in town, then. That way nobody would steal your shit."<br>"Well I'm all out. I'm coming over to yours after school, you owe me so much weed."  
>She laughed and I hooked an arm around her neck, dragging her along the hall to Art class.<p>

_Aaron [Apollo]_

Everybody sat in silence.  
>Ava had just told us the news. Piper had been taken on Friday night by a member of the Adficio.<br>"Somebody, fucking say something," Ava pleaded.  
>Patrick let a fist fall onto the table. "Just like THAT?" he croaked. He had taken a shine to Piper the past few months – he had been like a big brother to her, looking out for her just like Ava had wanted him to do.<br>"Tell me we're going to get her back," I said.  
>"Of course you idiot!" Ava snapped.<br>Danny and Hayden were sitting there in silence, eyes wide. Astra was cradling her notebook, looking close to tears. Alexandria was biting her fingernails, which she never did.  
>"Right, so what's the plan?" Adam asked. God of War over there people.<br>"I-I… I don't know…" Ava whispered.  
>"Is anybody kinda forgetting the obvious?" Meg broke in. We all looked at her. She sighed and snapped her gum. "Hunter."<br>"Aw SHIT," Patrick burst out. "He's gonna go all crazy again, isn't he?!"  
>"Maybe if we don't tell him…?" Astra murmured.<br>"Pah, like that'll work," Danny said. "He stalks her with his eyes 24/7."  
>"With his eyes?" Ava asked, rolling hers.<br>"Well obviously he can't follow her around like a puppy… sooooo with his eyes instead."  
>We let this idiotic statement sink in before we went back to our discussion.<br>"Who's going to tell him?" Alexandria asked.  
>"Not me!" Astra shouted.<br>"Hell, not me either. I barely know the dude," Adam continued.  
>We all shut up when the guy in question sat down beside us, pulling the chair around so he was straddling it.<br>"What's up?"  
>We all went quiet.<br>"Um…" Ava started.  
>"Well Hunter…" Alexandria tried.<br>Hayden sighed and placed a hand on Hunter's shoulder, before leaning in. In a gentle voice, he said, "The Adficio took Piper."  
>We braced ourselves.<br>We weren't prepared enough.

_Hunter [hades]_

It took a few seconds for Hayden's words to sink in. My blood ran cold. My head started pounding with a headache that had never been there five seconds ago. My skin created goosebumps.  
>"W-What?" I couldn't speak.<br>"On Friday," Alexandria murmured, "a member of the Adficio saw her outside and took her. We don't know where."  
>I could imagine how innocent Piper must have felt that night. How out of place she was in Geisha. She had spent forever picking a dress in a store she had dragged me along to. I knew this night had been a big fucking deal for her.<br>And all her efforts had been ruined. She was now in danger. Because of the fucking Adficio.  
>I didn't register what I was doing. All I know is my fist punched the table with a loud bang, the canteen went quiet, everybody staring, as they watched Hunter Snow go absolutely crazy.<br>I threw my chair, screaming out "FUCK!" in a voice that was barely my own – strangled, tormented. I could hear Astra, Ava, Alexandria and the Furies wailing at me to calm down and stop. I could feel Hayden's arms trying to hold me back, and though the guy is strong, he wasn't strong enough for this.  
>"IM GONNA GET HER BACK!" I shouted. "I'LL FIND HER!"<br>"Shh, sssh, please calm down!" Ava begged, grabbing hold of my shoulders. I shoved her away and stormed out the canteen, wanting to be anywhere but there. My head was spinning, I could feel the blood rushing. I carried on walking, kicking at lockers, ripping posters down from walls.  
>"HUNTER!"<br>Ava was running after me. "HUNTER, STOP, PLEASE!"  
>Her hands grabbed a hold of my jacket and she pulled me round, with considerable strength.<br>"Oh Hunter…"  
>It was only then that I realised I was crying. Hot, wet tears streaming down my face. "Hunter…" she murmured. She was crying too. Chunks of my hair were clamped in her small fists as she leant her head on my chest and cried.<br>"I-I didn't know you cared about Piper," I croaked out.  
>"She's my new friend. She doesn't deserve this."<br>We stood there in the middle of the hallway, clutching onto each other, our tears merging together.  
>"And y-y-you don't deserve this!" Ava burst out. "You should be with her because you l-l-love her! And now she's been taken and it's all my fucking fault!"<br>My hands gripped her neck. "It's NOT your fault."  
>"It is.. I've let us all down-"<br>"Shut up, Ava."  
>"No-"<br>Fresh tears ran down our cheeks. I leant my forehead on hers, sobbing. The sobs only stopped when our lips met. A kiss salty from tears. A kiss that got deeper and deeper, rooted in heartache.  
>"What the fuck?"<br>We broke apart.  
>Patrick was standing there, his eyes ablaze with fury.<br>"Patrick!" Ava's voice was all highpitched. "It's not what it looks-"  
>"Not what it looks like? You're kissing, that's what it looks like!" He looked at me with venom.<br>"You already stole Persephone from her mother. Now you wanna steal Athena from me too?"


	28. Into the Snakes Pit

_I just can't keep hanging on, to you and me_

_I just don't know what is wrong, with you and me_

_-Hanging On , _Ellie Goulding

Ava [Athena]

_Now you wanna steal Athena from me too?  
><em>What?! What was Patrick talking about? Since when was I his?  
>Hunter let go of me and raised his hands in defence. "Patrick, it's nothing, we were both upset, it was just a kiss-"<br>"Just _shut _the fuck up man!" Patrick yelled, striding forward, his face in Hunter's. "It looked pretty goddamn passionate to me!"  
>"Look, I know you're insanely in love with her but-"<br>"WHAT?" I choked out. Patrick loved me? What? Did everybody know this? Was this even happening right now?  
>"I'm not <em>insanely <em>in love with her! I just-"  
>"You so are, don't fucking deny it."<br>Patrick shoved Hunter into a locker. "Fuck you man."  
>"Guys, please don't fight! This is so stupid!" I tried to reason. But it didn't work. "My feelings for you are stupid?!" Patrick shouted at me.<br>"What feelings?! Since _when?_"  
>"Pat, maybe just calm down?" Hunter said. Patrick whipped round to look at him. "Don't call me Pat. You aren't my friend."<br>"I never wanted to be."  
>That set it off. Both boys were on the floor, punching and shouting at each other.<br>"Guys, stop it, PLEASE!"  
>I grabbed at Patrick's shoulders, trying to pull him off Hunter. He was hitting at Hunter's face and I could hear each thump and crack of bone. "STOP IT!" I screamed. I could hear the students in the canteen asking what was going on outside. I'm surprised nobody had even come out to see the noise yet. "Patrick, get off him!"<br>He wouldn't listen. Neither of them would. "Fuck it," I decided. "See you assholes later." I stormed away, hoping my sudden departure would cause some impact. It took a while but as I neared the school exit, I heard Patrick call out my name and tell me to stop. No. I wouldn't stop. He has feelings for me? His feelings can go die. I had enough on my mind right now – and getting Piper back was the main priority. Not some high school shit. Piper was now bait. The Adficio knew I would react. I was leading the others into the snakes pit with me.

That night, I had Adam over to discuss the plan. He rocked up in his ripped baggy jeans, smelling of weed, and with a mumbled 'Sup', he entered my house. He had the decency to take his shoes off.  
>"Nice place," he said, looking around at the high ceilings and paintings hanging on the walls. "You don't get this kinda shit in Brooklyn."<br>"Thanks I guess… want juice?"  
>"Nah, I'm cool. Let's just get on this."<br>We traipsed into the living room which was cosily heated thanks to the roaring fireplace. The coffee table was covered in my battleplans and mindmaps.  
>"Dude, when are we getting Piper? It's not like we can plan it properly. I mean, what if they do shit to her? We're kinda on a time limit."<br>I was surprised at his sincere side. "You care about this?"  
>He shot me a withering look. "Of course I fucking do. A girl got taken from us, we can't exactly sit back-"<br>"Who says I was gonna sit back?!"  
>"Your mind maps kinda give that hint!"<br>"If you want, you can fucking leave."  
>He stared at me, not breaking my gaze as he sat down. "I'm just saying… we don't have time to sit and think of strategy. Do you know where the Adficio's headquarters are?"<br>I was about to speak when my father's voice entered the room. "Surely you both would know that?"  
>We turned to look at him. He laughed and opened his whiskey cabinet, before picking a bottle and pouring him a little drink. He offered Adam a glass but he declined.<br>"How would we know exactly?" he asked.  
>Father sighed. "Think back to your roots. Don't tell me centuries of living on earth has robbed your of your knowledge of the old world? Think."<br>I was at a blank. I couldn't remember. I just had the screams and sound of flames burning in my mind. Father took out a book from the bookcase – I had seen its spine many times but it had never interested me enough to read it. Now I wish I had. The book had geopgraphical maps of Greece. Drawings of the Gods. Adam took it and absorbed the pages – causing my father to raise an eyebrow. "More intellectual than he looks, isn't he?"  
>Adam raised his head. "Acheron."<br>What the fuck? How had he..? WHAT?  
>"They reside around Acheron, don't they? At least that's the start of their trail," Adam said quickly. His eyes were earnest, filling with energy.<br>Father noticed my confused look. "Ava, the Acheron River is one of the five rivers leading to the underworld. It's known as the River of Pain to some. This river is the one that carries the ferry of souls to Hades-"  
>"Why would we be needing to go to the underworld? I thought the Aficio had broke out after Hades locked them up?"<br>Dad sighed and took a swig of his whiskey. "They find it ironically hilarious to reside in one of the realms of the underworld. Can you remember which?"  
>"Dad, quit making this a history lesson. Just tell me."<br>"If you enter the Underworld, you will identify this realm thanks to its flaming lava. It's a wasteland. The Adficio reside there because it is the only place fit for them."  
>"DAD-"<br>"The Fields of Punishment."

Hunter let out a hollow laugh. "Man, they're original."  
>"Hunter, why that location? You lived in the underworld, you should know!"<br>"Ava, has your greek mythlogy brain slid out? It's so obvious! The Fields of Punishment are where souls are imprisoned if they committed crimes against the earth or on the Gods themselves. They're forced to have an eternal punishment – hell, the condemned women didn't have it easy, y'know they had to fill buckets of water with no bottom? Constant bucket filling."  
>"So they've made that their base, throughout all these years?"<br>"Yeah. They're an enterprising lot."  
>So that was our destination. We had Hunter to guide us to the Underworld and beyond. I knew he would come in useful. I had called him round after Dad had told us about the Adficio's whereabouts – let's say Dad wasn't <em>tooo<em> impressed with the dreadlocked stoner and the leather wearing, long haired one sitting in our living room.  
>"So our plan?" Adam ventured.<br>"We'll use Dad's jet to fly out tomorrow," I answered.  
>"Your dad has a JET?" Both of them were pretty shocked. I don't know why, my dad's a senator, that kind of transport is expected. Right?<br>Adam let out a breath. "So fly out, find this river and Hunter's old house-"  
>"HEY. That death lair isn't my house."<br>"I'm just sayin'… fine, we go to Hunter's old lair-"  
>"HEY!"<br>"Ohmygod guys," I cut in, exasperated. "We fly out, find this river and _Hades_' underworld and these Fields… and hopefully we'll find Piper along the way."  
>I noticed Hunter swallow a lump in his throat. His eyes were suddenly downcast, his fists clenched together. "If we can't find her along the way, Ava… I'm going to find her myself." <p>


	29. Worthless

You'd better hope and pray that you make it safe  
>Back to your own world<br>You'd better hope and pray that you'll wake one day  
>In your own world<p>

-_Stay, _Shakespeare's Sister.

_Patrick [Poseidon]_

All of us were on our way to Greece. It had been seriously short notice when Aaron texted telling me that we were all to board Ava's dad's jet the next morning at 8am. We now had an idea of the Adficio's whereabouts and how to get to Piper, which I was glad for. That girl is actually sweet and doesn't deserve any of this shit.  
>Speaking of shit, Ava now knows about my feelings.<br>I wasn't even aware I had real feelings until like… last week. Yes, last week. Fine, three weeks ago. A month. A month and a half ago _tops_. Anyway, she now knows I like her which is fantastic because now she won't speak to me unless it's do with the battle plan. I'm on her team – I wouldn't be surprised if she pulled a weapon out on me instead.  
>"Ava, we haven't exactly been training long…" Hayden warned her as we all boarded. "I know, Hayden, but we have no time to waste. We need to get to Piper and the bastards."<br>The jet was fucking awesome. It was huge. It had a bar. It had a plasma HD TV and X-box.  
>"AW YES, AN X- BOX! Ava, your dad knows me so well!" Aaron squealed as he noticed the technology on offer.<br>"Any beverages we're allowed?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow. Danny has this weird thing he can do, which is make drinking sound irresponsible when really the drink was for him.  
>"Everything except dad's whiskey."<br>"BOYS, HIGH FIVE ME!" Danny whooped. Adam high fived him and both of them made their way to the bar to start mixing their drinks. Danny read over the drink menu. "I fancy a Slippery Nipple cause it sounds dirty…"  
>I had tried to sit beside Ava on the flight but she had used her strategic skills and had placed Alexandria beside her. The only seat available was with Tina. Let me tell you, sitting beside her was quite the experience. Meaning it was horrific. As soon as I sat down, she looked me up and down, raised an eyebrow and <em>very<em> _casually_ I might add, said, "I can see your dick's outline through your pants." 

Five hours of sexual harassment later, we finally landed. I literally burst out my seat before the seatbelt sign turned off. "Looks like somebody's in the mood to kill evil things!" Hayden joked.  
>We descended the jet's stairs and found a private car already waiting for us.<br>"Jeez, your dad doesn't mess around, does he Ava?" Adam said. Ava rolled her eyes and signalled for the driver to take our bags and put them in the trunk.  
>"We've got a villa thirty minutes away in the olive groves, we'll stop there, have dinner and plan, then we do this tomorrow."<br>Villa Athanatos loomed before us as we drove up past the olive groves and occasional donkey. The front door was gold, with white pillars on either side of it. One of her dad's Ferrari's was parked by the wall, which overlooked more olive groves. "Ava, this place is amazing…" Alexandria breathed. She was right. The villa looked like pure luxury from the outside, I could only imagine it was even grander inside. Aaaand I was right – the hallway was vast, with a floor covered by a blue and white mosaic of Pegasus. There were no lights, just tall white candles lit up, casting a glow around the walls. A winding marble staircase was the final sign that this villa was the best villa imaginable.  
>All in all, there were six double bedrooms, a living room, open plan kitchen and dining room, two bathrooms and a spa room. "Babe, can we just like… live here?" Alexandria asked, settling down beside the fireplace in the living room. Ava laughed. "I wish but this is just a holiday home. Dad has a number of them around the world. Rome's the best one."<br>Danny burst into the room. "DUDE, THERE'S A 'MIXOLOGY CELLAR'. A MIXOLOGY FUCKING CELLAR!"  
>Hunter rolled his eyes. "Why are you friends with him?"<br>"Because I'm Dionysus, mothafuckaaaaa!"

After going over battle plans, which now had been revised so the Furies could be on Hunter, Astra and Danny's team, we were all settling around doing whatever took our fancy. So Danny decided to be bartender for the evening. Alexandria was paddling in the pool with Astra and Ava while me and the guys were playing x-box. When it came to COD, Adam was king.  
>"Well I am God of War…" he teased as he won yet again. Aaron shoved him away – "shuuup man!"- and Hunter and Adam pumped fists.<br>I wanted to speak to Ava, not play Call of Duty. She was reclining on the side of the pool, her hand dipped into the water. Alexandria cleared her throat when she saw me coming out.  
>"Ava-"<br>"I see him."  
>Alexandria and Astra got out the water and gave me a curt nod. Good, they were letting me talk to her.<br>"Ava-"  
>"I have fuck all to say to you."<br>I kinda figured this is what she'd be like. I was prepared. I was used to this kinda thing from her if we ever argued. I settled down on the ground beside her and placed my feet in the pool. I felt like swimming.  
>"Look, I should've told you. To be honest, I wasn't exactly aware of it myself! You're my best buddy, Ava, so I guess I wasn't expecting to feel this way about you ever. I mean, you're Ava-"<br>"There was no need to fight with Hunter."  
>Her tone of voice was harsh. She wasn't taking any prisoners. "You should've just walked away and fucking calmed down, instead of being all fucking 'macho' and try to beat his ass – which by the way, you are positively <em>shit<em> at. Instead of talking to me about that stupid kiss, which meant nothing, you went off on one and went apeshit, like a fucking asshole. You're such an asshole. I've got enough on my mind than having to deal with you too."  
>"…I am not shit at beating his ass."<br>"You are."  
>"Am not."<br>"Are too."  
>I sighed. "Fine, I am. I just didn't like seeing you with him – not because I was jealous, though I was… but its cause its <em>Hunter. <em>Why him? Of all people? You know he loves Piper-"  
>"It was a comfort kiss, we were both upset!"<br>"Still though! Hunter Snow, fuuuucking hell Ava-"  
>"Look, we got history, okay?"<br>"Yeah I know, our history of being Gods, I KNOW-"  
>"I meant the other kind of history, Patrick."<p>

_Ava [Athena]_

Patrick stared at me, unblinking.  
>"…What?"<br>I groaned. This is not how I wanted to tell him. Or tell _anybody,_ for that matter. "Last year…"  
>"What the fuck happened last year, Ava?"<br>"Um…"  
>"Dude, what the fuck happened?"<p>

"_She doesn't love me."  
>"Yes she does, she's just in denial."<br>"No, she just flat out doesn't love me."  
>"Hunter-"<br>"No, Ava. She doesn't. She came up to me at my locker today and told me to quit watching her otherwise she'd get a restraining order. Mind you, she didn't say it with much conviction cause she was shaking like a fucking leaf, but she meant it. Piper doesn't love me. I'm done. I'm a monster because of who I fucking was eons ago, and nobody will let me forget it. Nobody wants me. I'm worthless."  
>I had grabbed him by the arm as soon as he said that. We were sitting in his truck. He had offered me a ride home from school, since I didn't want the driver to come collect me. I was gonna walk but it being winter, it was dark out. Hunter hated winter. It was that time of year when PersephonePiper had been with him and all those memories just flooded back.  
>"D'ya mind not touching the leather?" he muttered, his eyes flashing. My fingers gripped on his arm tighter. I wanted him to get pissed off, forget about Piper for a second. "Make me."<br>He gripped my hand and tried to force it off but to no avail. "Ava, let go."  
>"No, make me."<br>He pretty much threw me against the truck window. "Hunter!" Our faces were a millimetre apart. His eyes were wide, with hints of venom. "Told you not to touch the leather, kid." He smirked and I narrowed my eyes at him. Silence. Our lips crashed together in an instant. His hands were tangled in my hair, pulling at little chunks. This was the most surreal thing ever but it was actually…. Good. My hands roamed over his back, feeling the muscle and shoulder blades. His skin smelled of that nice guy smell. Ashey, deep. Our kissing deepened and his mouth travelled to the crook of my neck. His lips gently kissed the skin. "Hunter…"  
>"You wanting me to stop?" he murmured. I looked into his eyes. "No."<br>With that, his hands covered me, touching my stomach and my hips. I pulled his jacket off.  
>He stopped. I waited for his usual line about touching the leather but he said nothing. He pulled me gently down under him, so he was above me. Naturally, my legs wrapped around his waist. Hunter gave a small smile and continued kissing me. It was gentle until something in me turned it into something more fierce. His hands pulled off my sweater before moving down onto my jeans. They were off soon after. I copied, pulling off his shirt and unbuckling his belt. His jeans came off too. This shouldn't have been happening but it was and I wasn't stopping it. I was enjoying it too much to give a shit. I kissed his chest and sighed as I felt his fingers trail down underneath the lace of my underwear and inch further down towards my private skin. Was he going to touch me? Really?<br>He touched me. "H-H-Hunter-"  
>"Shh…"<br>I closed my eyes and let him continue what he was doing with his fingers. He was twisting magic, dark magic with his fingers. I couldn't stand it. My legs pulled him down further on top of me and his hands fumbled. Was he going to continue?  
>Hunter pushed inside me. I let out a groan which only increased in volume as he pushed more. Pushing and pushing. Sweat trickled down our foreheads as the truck with its confined space heated up. "Oh God, Ava," he breathed, gripping onto my legs. I could feel it. I was this close. He was close too. Sensations whirled around in my head, down to the pit of my stomach. My hands had gone numb. Soon, it was over. We considered what had just happened.<br>"Hunter?"  
>"Yeah?"<br>"We don't mention this to anybody."  
>"Was just about to say that." <em>

"I slept with Hunter."  
>"WHAT?"<br>Patrick was on his feet in an instant. He paced back and forth, his head in his hands. "HOW? WHY?"  
>"He was upset and it just happened-"<br>"Seems like everything romantic happens when he's upset around you."  
>"It wasn't fucking romantic, Patrick."<br>"You had sex with Hunter Snow. Hunter. You let him see you naked. YOU HAD SEX-"  
>"Shut up or everyone will hear you!"<br>Patrick sighed. "I can't believe this. I can't fucking believe this."  
>He turned to walk away. "Patrick-"<br>"Leave me be." 


	30. Let Rip With The Bullets

_Your body gives  
>But then holds back<br>The sun is bright  
>The sky is black<br>Can only be another sign  
>I cannot keep what isn't mine<em>

**Shadow **by Britney Spears

Alexandria

I didn't know what had happened with Ava and Patrick, but all I knew was that he was mad. He stormed into the living room and threw open the whiskey cabinet, before pouring himself a glass. Danny raised a hand – "Dude, that shit's not for us"- But Patrick signalled for him to be quiet which he obeyed. I cleared my throat and sidled up to him. "Pat baby? You okay?"  
>"Yes, I'm fine Alexandria <em>baby," <em>he spat. I tried to ignore the venom in his voice. "Are you sure? You seem kinda friendly with that whiskey…"  
>"Friendly like you, you mean?" he looked at me, straight in the eyes. What the fuck? Hayden and Astra, who were sitting by the fireplace, stopped talking and stared at him. "What?" I asked.<br>"You heard me."  
>My heart hammered in my chest. What did he mean? Was he meaning the whole Nate thing? Patrick was the guy who always made sure I was okay. Why on earth would he even say something so harsh?<br>"Um, yeah but-"  
>"But nothing. You and Ava – you're both exactly the same. Just two little sluts who can't stop throwing their cat at everybody-"<br>"_Patrick," _Hayden said sharply.  
>"Aw come on, Hayden. Quit being so protective. She did you wrong. Sure, you don't talk to her that much now but I think she deserves a little more punishment than that-"<br>"Patrick, shut the fuck up," Hayden snapped. He was on his feet now, fists clenched, with Astra placing a reassuring hand on his bicep to keep him from seeing total red. Patrick's face against Hayden's fist would not end well.  
>"Pat, maybe you just put the glass down and go to bed? Calm down?" Astra tried, the voice of reason. Patrick rolled his eyes and took another swig of his whiskey. "Fuck that."<br>"What the hell happened with you and Ava?" I demanded. He whipped round to stare at me. "What's it got to do with you?"  
>"She's my best friend. You were fine before you went to speak to her by the pool and now you're being the world's biggest douchebag-"<br>"No, the world's biggest douchebag is Nate Beaumont, though you might not agree."  
>That was it. Hayden had him up against the wall in an instant. "Fucking drop it!" he shouted. His eyes were full of flashing anger. I had seen him like this with Nate, everyone had, but never with a friend like Patrick. Hayden was usually so calm and peaceful.<br>"Dude, just tell her you hate her! You already told me and Aaron, may as well tell Alexandria herself!"  
>My heart felt like it had died. It was like somebody had got a machinegun and just let rip with the bullets. My chest tightened and I could feel goosebumps open on my skin. <em>Hayden hated me. <em>  
>He had turned to look at me, anguish on his face. "Patrick's twisted it, I don't-"<br>"Stop talking, Hayden. _Please_," I whispered. I could feel hot tears forming in my eyes but was I hell going to cry in front of everybody. Astra started to reach for me but I raised my hand, not wanting her. I didn't want anybody. I wanted to go the bedroom I had been assigned by Ava, curl up into bed and hibernate there forever.

An hour had passed and the crying hadn't let up. I had kept the tears together as I left the room and everybody in it, kept the tears together when entering the bedroom and opening the closet to find my sleep shorts and cami. The tears just came in a flood when I collapsed onto the bed, horrible tears that were sobs, running down my face. My chest heaved and tightened more, until I realised I was hyperventilating. I clutched the pillow and bit into the blanket, forcing down the screams that were collecting in the back of my throat.  
>This had stopped after fifteen minutes and now I was just curled into a ball, crying quietly and sniffling. I burrowed my face into the pillow, willing myself to go to sleep so this night could be over.<br>"Hey."  
>My heart skipped as the voice interrupted my wishes for sleep.<br>I slowly lifted my head off the pillow and looked to my side. Hayden's eyes was looking right into mine. He reached out a hand but I recoiled. For some reason, I felt like my skin would burn under his touch.  
>He sighed and I knew he felt regret. He ran a hand through his golden hair and sat on the bed, before placing his head in his hands. "Patrick is a fucking dick," he muttered.<br>I said nothing. I just sat upright against the headboard. Why was he even here? So he could tell me he hated me some more? So he could describe in detail how much he hated me? So he could say he had revenge sex with Tina?  
>Oh my god, I bet that happened.<br>He turned to face me. "I don't hate you," he whispered. "Far from it."  
>His hand reached out and gently stroked a strand of my hair. "New conditioner?"<br>It was meant to be a joke but I burst into tears all the same.  
>"Fuck, fuck, fuck, Lexii-"<br>"Don't c-c-call me t-t-that!" I forced out through my sobs. "You don't have the r-r-right to call me that anymore!"  
>His arms were outstretched, his hands trying to hold me to calm me down but my fists struck his chest. "Why are you even fucking here?!" My fists carried on punching, though I doubt they even hurt him. I was on my knees now, continuously punching as he grabbed my elbows. Tears ran down my cheeks and blinded me.<br>"Shhh shh!" He brushed my hair back from my forehead. "I don't want you upset! Please just listen to me!"  
>My fist got him in the jaw.<br>He landed back on the bed, his expression in shock. We stared at each other.  
>"Well… you're the first person to ever beat my ass," he quipped, a slight smile on his lips. I couldn't stop a tiny smile forming on mine.<br>"There's the sunshine…" he murmured, his eyes glittering. He rubbed his jaw and stood up. "Fuck, you really got me!"  
>There was something about his smile, the fact he could be so nice… it just got me. I missed him. He knew that.<br>"I miss you."  
>He looked at me. "I know."<br>I nodded. A few seconds of silence passed. Defeated, I lay down and turned to face the window, my back to him.  
>Strong arms wrapped around me, a heartbeat crashing against my spine. "I miss you too," he murmured into my ear. Hayden's body shifted and brought me closer against him, so we were spooning. His breathing was like a lullaby through the night, sending me to sleep.<p>

The sunlight woke me up. The room was hot from the Greek temperature outside and I moved to open the window. Hayden's arms around me reminded me that I hadn't spent the night alone. I smiled to myself. It was like old times.  
>I moved to get up and he groaned. I pulled the white silk curtain, letting the full sunshine in. "Aw man, d'ya have to?" Hayden moaned, his eyes still closed but squinting furiously.<br>"Sorry," I sang.  
>His eyes opened and looked up at me. He frowned then sat up. "I didn't mean to spend the night. Sorry I took up most of the bed."<br>"It's okay, you kept me warm."  
>"Hahahaha yeah…"<br>Something wasn't right. He was acting… weird. He got out the bed and paced the room.  
>"Are you okay?"<br>He nodded quickly. He was a shit liar.  
>"No you're not."<br>"I didn't mean to spend the night."  
>"Yes, I know that, you already mentioned that."<br>My heart was quickening. This wasn't the way this morning was supposed to be. We were supposed to say good morning, kiss and have morning sex, before going downstairs to have breakfast together with everyone else.  
>"I shouldn't have… I just wanted to see if you were okay."<br>"Hayden, you just slept beside me, nothing happened-"  
>"That's not the point! I'm still so mad at you! I know he just gave you a hickey but the fact you went and did that with Nate of all fucking people, as well as let a guy who isn't me kiss you and shit… it still hurts!"<br>"I was drunk, what else can I say?! I regret it so much! I would do anything to have you back, Hayden, anything! But you're too stubborn to let me have you!"  
>He whipped around and stared at me. "Let you have me?! Why would I let that happen?!"<br>"Because I love you-"  
>"<em>You broke my fucking heart<em>!"  
>His anger had erupted and now his words echoed around the room, probably around the whole villa. He had done this to me again. He had made me want him all over again and now he was taking himself back.<br>I narrowed my eyes. "I'm fucking done."  
>My fist then deliberately connected with his jaw. <p>


	31. Firebreather

Adam [ar-es]

I woke up on the couch, surrounded by empty whiskey glasses and burnt up roll ups. Meg was curled up beside me, her hair mussed up from tossing and turning throughout the night. It was a tight space on the couch, she was literally pressed right up against the cushions. My eyes adjusted to the light and I squinted – and got the fright of my life to see two women, one looking pretty damn angry, standing above me.  
>"WOAH!"<br>The angry looking one rolled her eyes. Her black hair was in waves and her face was defined – she was a beauty, even with a face that looked like thunder right now. "I appreciate what you've done to my house."  
>It clicked. "Ava's mom?"<br>"Hannah. Or Hera, if you prefer to call me that. Where's my daughter?"  
>I struggled to find words. The other woman with her was looking around the place, her eyes wide with worry. "Adam? This is Demi. Piper's mother. Demeter," Hannah continued. I raised my hand in greeting. Hannah looked at me up and down. "Please put some clothes on."<br>I might have slept with Meg last night, and not in the sleeping sense. 

"Mom, I'll clean up when I have the energy-"  
>"No, you'll clean up NOW. For God's sake Athena, I asked you to respect this house and use it for battle prep, not to hold parties! Your father's liquor cabinet is near empty!" We all stared accusingly at Patrick, whose face had a guilty expression. It was surprising that her mom was calling us by our God name… I hadn't been called Ares in forever.<br>"Ares and Hunter, take out the trash please," Hannah ordered. Her hands were placed on her hips, diamond rings twinkling on her fingers. Demi was sitting at the table, head in her hands. "When are you going to find my daughter?"  
>She had been frantic the past few days apparently. Astra sat opposite her and took hold of her hand. "This week. I promise you."<br>"Dionysus, get the vacuum. Aphrodite, open the windows and mop the kitchen floor," Hannah said. We were all following her orders, no complaints. Like her husband, she had the same authority and control. Her manner was 'Don't fuck with me.' It was kinda hot.  
>Hayden was washing up. As Alexandria mopped, he would move away if she got too close. His jaw was sporting a bruise. I'll assume they had some rough make-up sex.<p>

Patrick [posiedon]

A few hours later, we were all assembled on a hill that overlooked the olive groves. In my hungover state, trekking up a hill carrying weapons was not my idea of fun.  
>I felt terrible about the night before. Ava had told me about her and Hunter –I still COULDN'T wrap my head around that – and I had made Alexandria cry. And Hayden hated me. As a result, nobody was really talking to me, not even Aaron. He hated conflict and I guessed he had chosen to stay away as Ava, Alexandria and Hayden wouldn't appreciate him being normal with me.<br>Ava's mom was a tough one. She was thinking purely of the war, and rightly so. She was Ava's mother after all. She unlocked a wooden trunk and we gathered round to see its contents.  
>.Weapons. <p>

Hunter [hades]

The Firebreather caught my eye immediately. "Woah, we have one of these?!" I asked.  
>Hannah raised an eyebrow. "We have <em>four <em>of these."  
>She lifted it out and we stepped back as she adjusted the weapon in her hands. It was a long, silver thing that resembled a machine gun – except this machine gun blasted out fire. It burned you to a crisp within seconds.<br>"Ares, demonstrate," Hannah commanded. With a massive grin on his face, Adam stepped up and took it from her. "Fuck, this thing's lighter than it looks!"  
>He gripped it. "Um… should I aim?"<br>Demi cleared her throat. "Might want to use a target…"  
>Adam looked around and pointed the Firebreather at a flower. "NO!" Demi shouted. "DON'T HARM NATURE!"<br>"Woah, woah, woah, okay…"  
>Hannah sighed. "Aim it for the sky. You can't burn air."<br>Adam blushed – didn't think the guy could do that – and he pointed it above our heads. Everyone scattered and sat down a few metres away from danger. Adam pulled the trigger… and a huge, red flame burst out the gun and flew a distance in the air, before bursting into a flame firework.  
>Adam turned to us, his eyes wide. "That was fucking AWESOME!"<br>Hannah clapped and stood up. "That's your weapon. Furies?"  
>Everyone looked at them. Allegra frowned and beckoned for Meg and Tina to stand up with her. Hannah held out the three other Firebreathers. "You get one too." Then she shut the chest.<br>….But I wanted one.

The chest began to rock from side to side. We all turned and stared, before walking slowly back. We could hear scraping from the inside, like claws. Like something was trying to get out. Demi calmly moved to the chest and opened it slowly before it was completely free. Something black jumped out and Alexandria screamed.  
>I was on my back before I could register what had caused my fall. I opened my eyes and squinted up.<br>It was a dog.  
>As it licked my face, it clicked – I knew this dog. This dog knew me. It barked as I picked it up in my arms before it nuzzled into my neck. "Hey Cerberus."<br>Astra knelt down beside me and ruffled his head. "He's so cute and small! I love black Labradors!"  
>Ava glared at her mom. "What has this puppy got to do with being a weapon? It's a bundle of fluff. It's useless. Give Hunter a machete or something, ANYTHING but a fricking dog-"<br>Hannah pointed a tiny torch at Cerberus and as soon as I heard it click, I wish she hadn't. Because now, the cute and small dog had grown in size so it was the same height as me and formed sharp teeth… and now sported three heads.  
>"HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?" Aaron yelped, grabbing Hayden and hiding behind him.<br>"MOM, SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?" Ava shouted, her eyes full of shock.  
>Before her mom could explain, I did.<br>"He's my pet."  
>Alexandria stared. "You have a three headed monster as a <em>pet<em>?"  
>"No," I sighed. "I had Cerberus as a pet when I was Hades. I guess it got pretty lonely down there so I wanted company."<br>Patrick glared. "So, not only did you have Persephone to hold hostage, you also had a three headed beast to play with?"  
>Demi flinched at the mention of Piper's old self. I groaned. "Look, he was also good for security. If anybody dared enter who shouldn't have been there, Cerberus would've killed them. Plus he's actually a sweet thing once he… shrinks."<br>Hannah pointed the torch again and Cerberus shrank back down to puppy size.  
>"Anyone else notice Hunter call something <em>sweet<em>?" Astra murmured. Everyone nodded, not taking their eyes off Cerberus. "So, this puppy… it's a killer?" Ava asked.  
>"Ava, did you see the size of it once it grew?" Patrick spat.<br>She turned and stared at him, her fists clenching. "Yes, _Patrick. _I'm just making sure it helps all of us, that it won't be a liability."  
>"He can take down nine Adficio's at once," Hannah clarified. "He's brutal."<br>Aaron paled. "So that's three Adficio's per dog head. Oh my god, the blood…"  
>I smirked and nudged Cerberus. "Go see Aaron," I whispered. Aaron's girly scream as Cerberus jumped on him before licking his face was classic.<p> 


	32. Why Are You Here?

"Hello? Is anyone there? ...Hello? I can't hear anything. Is anyone still there… Hello? Is anyone there? Hello? Hello?  
>-<em>Alerion<em> by Asking Alexandria

**Hunter [hades]**

It was now 11pm and everybody was dwindling off to bed, tired after a day of preparing and learning their weapon technique. I was sat in my assigned room, overlooking the mountains, with Cerberus who was curled up beside me on the bed. It was nice to have company again – I guess I still felt like an outsider in this group of Gods, mainly because they still didn't like me. Patrick _definitely_ didn't like me. He barely spoke to me now and him and Ava's relationship was now strained. Anything they said to each other was sarcastic, mean, or both. Patrick, normally a nice guy, was being an asshole.  
>Cerberus was the best weapon any of us could have asked for, in my opinion. He is a three headed dog.<br>Ava's weapon was a shield and also a whip, so she was decked out like a true warrior. Alexandria had quite a clever one – she had been given a gold perfume bottle. "What? I get I stand for beauty and all that shit, but please give me some credit…" she had muttered. It was only when she sprayed it on herself that something happened. Her skin glowed more golden, more glittery. Hannah had instructed her to focus on one single person. Alexandria looked at Adam for a few seconds – which was surprising, I figured she'd have gone for Hayden but they were not speaking, and nobody knew why – and Adam looked up and stared at her, suddenly transfixed. His eyes had gone wide and he looked as though he wanted to have her, right then and there. It took two hours for this to fade and for Adam to go back to normal. Thing is, he had no idea what he had just acted like. Meg looked far from amused.  
>It was only when we asked Hannah what the perfume was and why it was a weapon, did we get any answers. The perfume gave Ava – Aphrodite – even more of a beautiful aura, which could even make an Adficio member stop in its tracks and be put under her spell. Once an Adficio member was transfixed, Alexandria could use the sword she had also been given and kill that Adficio without any resistance. All Alexandria had to do was choose her target.<br>Astra had a metal skull, which when thrown changed into a slicer, which could cut an Adficio's neck open. She needed perfect aim, so she had spent hours throwing it at a tree trunk until she began to become a master.  
>Now, in my room with Cerberus, I could think about what lay ahead. We may have been kitted out with awesome weapons, and we may have power on our side, but I knew – we all knew – that this wouldn't be easy. The Adficio had weapons too. They had the Catanna, for God's sake. That weapon was lethal to us. One hit of it and we would turn mortal. That shit was scary. And there was the fact that Piper was with them right now. God knows what they had done to her. The Adficio are evil. They don't hesitate in violence. They don't give a shit. I had seen it with my own eyes and I had no idea how Piper was coping. All I knew was that I was going to get her back. <em>This<em> much I know.

**Piper [Persephone]**

I could feel something cutting into my wrists.  
>I could taste blood in my mouth. My lip felt like somebody had punched it and now there was a lump underneath.<br>The cutting in my wrists wasn't letting up. It was as if somebody was dragging something deep down into my skin, trying to get into my veins.  
>My mind felt drowsy. I didn't know what day it was, what time it was, where I was. All I've experienced has been blackness, and then waking up to see white light, then blackness pulls me back again.<br>The cutting in my wrists won't let up. I want to scream. I have to scream. But something is stopping me. I'm being held down.  
>The scary thing is, I'm still existing in blackness.<br>I can't see anything. Literally nothing. I'm being held in this blackness against my own will, and something is cutting into my wrists and I have no fucking idea what is causing it.  
>It's only when I catch a glimpse of white light that my heart races and I push through, trying to open my eyes and see where I am. I want to see what the cutting in my wrists is. I wouldn't have been surprised if it was a knife. Then that thought, the fact it could be, only scared me further.<br>I can hear voices. Somebody is laughing. "Look at her, stupid little girl."  
>"Think we should wake her up so she can see us fully?"<br>"Nah, keep her half comatose, it's hilarious."  
>I'm still pushing, trying to fight the blackness. The white light is getting bigger.<br>"She's a determined creature."  
>"True that."<br>"Get her up."  
>Suddenly, I'm lurched forward and the white light fills my sight. It's like a sheer white curtain – I can see shadows behind it of figures. I just need the push the white curtain away.<br>"Let her see for a second. She might not want to wake up at all after," the second voice says gleefully. These voices are enjoying whatever state they have put me in.  
>The white curtain is wrenched away from me and my eyes focus.<br>I wish they hadn't.  
>I was suspended in the air. The thing cutting into my wrists was not a knife, like I had been fearing – it was rope. Below me were two men wearing black hoods. The thing was, these men were beautiful. They looked almost angelic. One had skin the colour of mocha, while the other had blonde hair styled into a mohawk, which I could see since he had now pulled his hood down. Mohawk Boy pulled on a nearby rope and I was dropped from the ceiling. I screamed as air rushed past me and gravity pulled me down – for me to land on a metal table. The impact hurt my back.<br>"So, Persephone! Let us introduce ourselves," Mohawk Boy said. He smiled, but not in a nice way. More like a'_Man,_ _I can't wait to kill you later_,' kind of way. "My name's Cael."  
>Mocha Boy leaned down at me. "And I'm Justice."<br>Cael highfived him. "Awesome name, man. Bet Persephone loves it too."  
>I glared at them and they stopped whooping. Cael frowned and reached down, grabbing a lock of my hair and pulling me up. The pain seared through my head. "You got a problem with your face?"<br>My eyes widened. "N-N-N-No."  
>"You do know the definition of my name is 'pleasant'?" Cael asked. "Ironic cause I'm just not. But maybe you want to test it? I could be pleasant. Can I be pleasant, Justice?"<br>Justice sniggered then his face turned sober. "Sure, course you can."  
>"Okay. I'll be pleasant. Persephone, do you know why you're here?"<br>"My name is Piper," I snapped. I forgot these guys could kill me for a second.  
>Cael's fist slammed on the table. On any other person, their knuckles would have cracked. Cael didn't so much as flinch in pain. "I asked, <em>Persephone, <em>why are you _here_?"  
>I had to think of an answer. Anything would do. "I-I-I don't know."<br>Cael burst out laughing. "She doesn't know! Justice, she doesn't know! The poor girl has no idea why I took her in the night!"  
>Justice shook his head. "She knows nothing."<br>Cael looked back down at me. "We know your friends."  
>"Ahhhh yes…. Ava…" Justice said.<br>"And Astra…" Cael continued.  
>Then Justice swooned. "And Alexandria."<br>"Down boy," Cael said to him. "Yeah, so we know your buddies. They want to kill us. Now, I'm sorry babe, but do you think we deserve to be killed?"  
>I didn't know what to say. Tell the truth <em>– yes, you should be because you kidnapped me and now holding me hostage, plus even though you are both insanely goodlooking, I can tell you could kill me in a moment if I do anything wrong. <em>  
>Something told me to lie.<br>"No."  
>Cael raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Never took you for a liar."<br>Justice tutted.  
>"But we like liars. We're liars ourselves. So, we'll let you live on that one. We don't deserve to die, no. But this is the risk we've taken by holding you here. This wasn't our idea by the way… let's say we're henchman."<br>"The main brains behind this thing, you won't meet for a while," Justice cut in, "so you'll have to make do with us."  
>"Lucky girl," Cael said with a wink.<br>I drew back. I needed off this table, out of this rope. I clenched my fists and struggled, to no avail. Cael noticed and placed a cold hand on my wrist. The coldness was soothing for a second, but then I remembered the hand belonged to this creep.  
>"You're just bait," he murmured. "You're here so we can lure your friends in and then kill them off one by one. Now you… you're not a God, right? You were just Persephone. Your mother is. So that makes you… demi?"<br>"Actually," I bit back, "I was the Goddess of Innocence and Queen of the Underworld." Normally I wouldn't have been so vocal about my time in the underworld but was I hell letting these guys undermine me.  
>Cael and Justice stared at each other. "…Oh really?" Cael said, a small smile forming on his lips.<br>What had I just done? 


	33. Are You Losing Faith?

**Meg [megaira]**

My back was aching. My legs were experiencing a sort of numbness. My fingers were tingling.  
>It felt so <em>fucking <em>good.  
>Adam continued to push into me, with each push shoving me back against the refrigerator. We were having sex in the kitchen. Swear down, it had just weirdly happened. No touching or flirty innuendos were shared.<br>Ahem.  
>I clutched onto Adam's rippling shoulders, clinging on as he gripped a thick tendril of my hair in his hand. He was so close to it. I blame him for this situation, entirely. He shouldn't have… stared at me in that lusty way of his when I wandered into the kitchen clad in my black lace underwear so I could find the tub of Ben &amp; Jerry's ice cream. I had misplaced my bathrobe, seriously. I figured nobody would be up at 2am. I hadn't expected to find him sitting at the breakfast bar reading yesterday's paper. Insomnia, it's a bitch. Really, I hadn't expected to see him. Sure, I <em>maaaay<em> have heard him leave his room across the hall but me getting ice cream from the kitchen, not knowing he would be there, with me dressed in my favourite black lace underwear, was definitely, most definitely a coincidence.  
>"Holy shit, Meg," he breathed into my ear.<br>Okay, it wasn't a coincidence, I knew this whole damn thing was going to happen. Do I regret it? No.  
>We carried on with what we were doing. The fridge was killing my back but I liked having battle wounds. I bit into his shoulder and looked across the room for a moment – just in time to see, out the kitchen window, something red flash in the sky. "A-A-Adam?"<br>"Shh hon-"  
>"Adam, I think there's something outside."<br>He stopped pushing and stared at me. Sweat trickled down his forehead, his dreads more matted than usual. "Huh?"  
>"Outside," I said, adjusting myself around his waist, "I saw something red flash."<br>"_Something red flash,_" he repeated. Holding me up around his hips, he turned and walked us both over to the window. I wrapped my legs around him tighter so I wouldn't fall off.  
>"Where?"<br>"Just outside. It seemed to light up the sky."  
>He frowned. "Nothing's out there."<br>"Adam, do you see why I'm worried? Remember the football game? The fireballs?"  
>"Yeah but there's nothing outside."<br>"I swear, I saw something red flash."  
>Adam walked us over to the door that led out to the garden. Still holding me, he stepped out into the cool air and looked up. "Holy shit."<br>I looked up and wish I hadn't. Imprinted in the black sky was a red cloud, shaped like a skull.  
>"A-A-Adam…"<br>"The Adficio know we're here," he murmured. My skin developed goosebumps. Feeling this, Adam placed a small kiss on my forehead. "Let's wake up the others. We're going to kick some Adficio ass."  
>His words shook me. I hadn't really thought about this war as a whole. Yeah we'd been training, but the reality of it hadn't exactly sunk in yet.<br>"Adam?"  
>He looked at me with his green eyes.<br>"Adam… what if we don't kick Adficio ass?"  
>He gave me a small smile. "You losing faith?"<br>"N-No-"  
>"You losing faith in the team?"<br>"No!"  
>"You losing faith in me?"<br>I stared at him. "Adam, no."  
>"You losing faith in yourself?"<br>"…No."  
>Adam held me tighter. "You're the toughest chick I know, more than Allegra, more than Ava the Princess. Don't you ever hesitate when questioning yourself again." <p>


	34. You're Despicable

_I'm about to lose my mind;  
>You've been gone for so long;<br>I need a doctor  
>Call me a doctor<br>To bring me back to life_

-_I need a Doctor_, Eminem

Ava [Athena]

I had woken up to shouting coming from downstairs. "Everybody, wake up! Now! Wake up!"  
>My sleep interrupted, which never served me well as I wasn't a morning person in the slightest, least of all a 3am person either, I sat up and allowed myself to register the fact that something wasn't right.<br>I heard feet running up stairs, fists pounding on doors, including mine. "EVERYBODY, GET UP!"  
>It was Meg and Adam. I jolted out the bed and ran out into the hallway, knocking into Meg. "Meg?!"<br>"Ava, a red skull in the sky- It's so fucking scary. It-it just appeared. A red flash!" She was stammering, panic in her voice. I heard Aaron and Patrick protesting as Adam dragged them downstairs. Soon, everybody was rushing downstairs, to see this red skull that Meg was shouting about. 

Fuck. There actually was a red skull emblazoned in the sky. I felt my blood run cold.  
>Astra nudged my arm and murmured in my ear, "Ava, this doesn't look good…"<br>Hunter nodded. "The Adficio. The bastards know we're here."  
>I had been expecting this. The Adficio weren't idiots, they could detect enemies in a short enough time. If I'm honest, I judge them for not finding us sooner. Alexandria squeezed my hand. "What do we do?"<br>"We go pay them a visit, I guess."  
>Aaron's eyes widened. "This isn't a trip to Grandma's house, Ava! This is the Adficio, paying them a visit means war!"<br>Danny smirked. "Way to point out the obvious."  
>"Right, we get our stuff ready," Adam said. "Be out the door in twenty minutes."<br>All of us were now in Battle Mode, though the last thing I heard as I went upstairs was Aaron whimpering, "I just want to be at home playing Xbox with jalapeno pizza…"

Patrick [poseidon]

We split into groups so we could fit into the three Rangerovers that Ava's dad had kindly let us use. As Ava wasn't speaking to me, I was in a car with Hayden, Alexandria and Astra. Hunter knew where to find our destination, so he was driving the car in front with Adam and the Furies, while Ava, Aaron and Danny were in the car behind us. Hayden was driving our car and I sat shotgun. Astra had packed little snacks like Babybels and Doritos, though I don't think we were that hungry at 3.20am. We set off past the olive groves and along the mountain road, driving towards god knows where.  
>Let's say that I couldn't have picked a worse car to get into.<br>I now know why Hayden and Alexandria weren't speaking – pretty much because for the majority of the car journey, all they did was shout obscenities at each other and blame the other for the situation.  
>"YOU SPOONED ME!"<br>"I COULD SPOON AARON, IT WOULDN'T MEAN ANYTHING!"  
>"ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT YOU'RE A HEARTLESS ASSHOLE, OR THAT YOU'RE GAY?!"<br>Hayden had slammed the dashboard at that point. "Damn it Alexandria, way to be mature!"  
>"Ha, AS IF you're the mature one! You're a little boy who stomps over girls hearts and treats them like monkeymeat!"<br>"Stomp over your heart?! May I remind you that you were the one who was caught sucking on Nate Beaumont's neck?"  
>Alexandria threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. Astra drew in a breath, while I sat, wanting to be anywhere but here. I would happily have been that dead bird lying on the side of the road.<br>"Hayden, it's not as if I slept with the guy! I was drunk, he plied me with shots!"  
>"Don't make that fucker take all the blame! You're at fault, you let him ply you with those damn shots!"<br>Cue more shouting and swearing.  
>"Stop the car," Alexandria demanded.<br>"No."  
>"Hayden, stop the fucking car."<br>"We'll hold up the others so no."  
>"Stop. The. Fucking. Car."<br>Astra sighed. "Hayden, do what she says."  
>"No!"<br>Alexandria jumped up and smacked him round the back of the head. The car swerved due to Hayden's shocked reaction and it took me and Hayden to grab the wheel and correct it. "Stop the car!" Alexandria shouted. Hayden hit the brakes hard and we were all jolted forward. Ava, driving behind us, hit her car horn and stopped. Alexandria got out the car and slammed the door. "Ava, I'm switching cars. I can't be in there with him."  
>"She's being ridiculous…" Hayden muttered.<br>Ava got out her car. "What the hell? What's happened?"  
>Astra rolled down her window. "They're arguing, and it's awkward man. Ava, let Alexandria switch, we'll take Aaron."<br>"Fine," Ava sighed. "Aaron! You're switching with Alexandria."  
>Aaron got out the car and whooped. "I'm with my boys, yesss!"<br>"And me," Astra said.  
>Aaron groaned. "Aw man, my sister. Greaaat… you got Babybels?"<br>"Yes, Aaron," Astra sighed. "We have Babybels."  
>Aaron whooped again and jumped in the backseat beside Astra. "Shove over, your ass is huge like the Grand Canyon."<br>"Shut the fuck up Aaron, my ass is fine!"  
>I endured the rest of the journey dealing with Aaron and Astra's brothersister squabbles.

Piper [Persephone]

I was still unaware of the concept of time. I didn't know what day it was, how many hours had gone by since I met Cael and Justice. My throat was so dry, it felt like I had cuts engraved down it. It hurt to speak. The rope that had been twisted round my wrists had dug in so hard that I now had slices in my skin, with sores threatening to burst. I had been Cael and Justice's plaything – occasionally they would pull me down from the ceiling and taunt me, asking about Ava and everyone, asking why weren't they here yet, what did it feel like to be a prisoner again?  
>They had me back on the table again. Cael had the audacity to shove his feet, clad in DM boots, up onto the table beside my face. "So Piper… how's things? Liking your hotel?"<br>I could barely speak now. I didn't even bother to answer.  
>"You ignoring me now, pet? That's mean. I'm being nice to you today."<br>I squeezed my eyes shut, willing tears not to fall and give him the satisfaction.  
>"You gonna cry? I don't see why, you have nothing to cry about. You got me, and Justice, and this room. It's perfect."<br>I opened my mouth, the skin around my lips cracking. Cael frowned. "Want water?"  
>I stared at him. I couldn't ever tell if he was being nice or pretend nice. Probably pretend nice like 99.9% of the time. I watched him pick up a jug of water, that he had had sitting beside him, as a taunting device. "Here," he muttered.<br>He gently took hold of my chin. I looked up into his eyes and for a minute, they looked gentle and warm.  
>Until my face was flooded with water.<br>He had thrown water in my face.  
>I spat the water that had entered my mouth out and pulled myself up.<br>"You're despicable," I murmured, knowing I had venom lacing my voice. Cael smirked. "True. I find it laughable you thought I could show some human emotion. Though I do like that fiery side of you."  
>He laughed and took a gulp of water from the jug. We both looked round when we heard Justice running in. "Cael!"<br>"Yeah man?"  
>"The Gods... they're on their way. They saw our symbol."<br>My heart quickened. Ava, Alexandria, Astra, Hunter… they were on their way to get me.  
>Cael smiled a vicious smile. "Perfect. Just what we planned."<p> 


	35. Meet My Little Boys

Hey guys, sorry for the huge delay in posting a chapter. I've just been crazy busy – working, went to Hamburg for a break, etc. I got into Honours for my university course! Anyway, here's the latest instalment. Please review if you like!  
>Erin xo<p>

Ava

Now was not the time to get lost.  
>But we were. Two hours later, we had circled past the same olive tree and ruined temple for the third time. We had now pulled over to think about Plan B. "I swear to god man, I'm gonna die in this heat," Aaron groaned, flopping down on the ground and holding his blonde head in his hands.<br>"Man up, vagina," Adam said, looking around. We were crowded on a dirt road, the hot sun beating down on us and dryness in our mouths. We had underestimated how much we all could eat and drink on a road trip, and had quickly run out of supplies.  
>Hayden sighed. "Guys, we just have to regroup."<br>"Since when are you the fucking leader?" Alexandria snapped.  
>"I'm not saying I'm the leader-"<br>"We have a leader?" Tina murmured, looking stoned.  
>"There's no leader," Patrick answered quickly.<br>"It's clearly Ava," Alexandria said.  
>My attention darted to her. "Woah, no way."<br>"You so are," Astra agreed. "You're Zeus' daughter."  
>"Yeah man, but she can't draw up battle plans to save her life," Adam said with a laugh.<br>"I like her battle plans…" Astra muttered.  
>"Why am I not the leader?" asked Danny.<br>Hunter snorted. "Cause you're _you._"  
>"What the fuck is that supposed to mean, creep?"<br>"It means nobody in their right mind would choose to follow your alcohol induced orders."  
>"But I'm Dionysus…"<br>"Guys, nobody is the leader!" I burst out. "Can we please abandon this stupid discussion and talk about how to find where the hell we are going?!"  
>They all stared at me. I stood there awkwardly.<br>"Yup, she is _definitely_ the leader," Meg decided.  
>I threw my hands up. "Ohmygod, just leave it!"<br>Adam sniggered and lit a cigarette.  
>"Pee break?" Aaron suggested. "No? Just me? Cool. I'll be behind that temple."<p>

Aaron

I could still hear them bickering as I finished up my business behind the temple across the dirt road. It felt kinda disrespectful pissing behind a temple of my history but I was desperate. I just wanted to pee, get food… though there were no stores around here. I might have to find a donkey and kill it for meat. I heard the breeze pick up and a few pebbles sweep across the ground. A snigger.  
>This didn't sound good.<br>Heart beating, I turned and came face to face with nothing. Just pillars and boulders. There was nothing there. I shrugged. It didn't matter.  
><span>"What have we here?"  
>This definitely didn't sound good.<br>Something moved from behind one of the pillars. A long, golden arm wrapped itself around it, before a woman's face peered out from it, her smile not a nice one. She stepped out gracefully. She wore a long, white chiffon dress and had gold bracelets twining up her slender arms. Dark dreadlocks hung down past her shoulders against coffee coloured skin. This woman was totally hot.  
>"Um… hey," I greeted her. Her hips swung as she moved further towards me. "Why are you disrespecting my house?" she asked. I frowned. Why would somebody live in a ruined temple? One as decayed as this with weird boulders cut in odd shapes. "I needed to pee, sorry. I'll leave!"<br>She held up a hand. "Stay."  
>"I'm Aaron-"<br>"No you're not."  
>"Eh, yes I am."<br>She curled her lip in distaste. "You're Apollo."  
>I froze. How did she know? Nobody knew about our existence. What the fuck -<br>Her hand was still held up. On the inside of her wrist was a tattoo of a coiled snake. I blinked and noticed details I hadn't seen previously. The bracelets up her arms were, on closer look, snakes.  
>She was obsessed with snakes it seemed.<br>I looked around her "house." The boulders were starting to look different – not like boulders at all, but statues of people. Stone people.  
>I whipped round and stared at her. A dreadlock <em>moved<em>.  
>"Um… I really have to go now."<br>"Why? You've only just got here…"  
>I backed away from the woman. She took a step forward. More of her dreadlocks were now moving. I had a feeling dreadlocks really weren't supposed to do that. I heard the hissing noise. She reached out and stroked my cheek. "Apollo, you've become quite rude."<br>Her smile turned vicious – and a dreadlock suddenly changed form and a small snake lashed out.  
>"HOLY FUCK!"<br>"Apollo, meet my little boys. They've been aching to meet you."  
>I was stuck to the spot. My legs wouldn't move. I thanked God I had peed beforehand. She smirked and her eyes flashed, resembling a snakes eye. My legs chose that moment to work and I ran away from Medusa and her snakes.<p>

Patrick [posiedon]

"OHMYFUCKINGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!"  
>We looked around to see Aaron, his face incredibly white and his blonde hair incredibly on end, racing towards us. "GUYS, GET IN THE FUCKING CARS! WE GOTTA GO!"<br>"What the fuck…" Danny murmured. Ava crossed her arms. "Aaron, what the hell is wrong with you?!"  
>"THAT TEMPLE – HER! SNAKES! THE T-T-TEMPLE!"<br>"I think something has happened in the temple," Hayden clarified.  
>Meg wrinkled her nose. "Something about snakes too."<br>"MEDUSA!" Aaron shouted, jumping over a wall and reaching us. He grabbed one of the keys for the car and shoved Hunter. "_Seriously guys, come on!"  
><em>Adam grabbed him by the arm. "What did you say about Medusa?"  
>"Medusa! She lives in that temple that I peed outside of! She's HERE!"<br>Ava sighed. "Aaron, this is absolutely-"  
>"Ridiculous?" joined a musical female voice.<br>We turned. A woman with snakes for hair was leaning against the olive tree. "I was just showing Apollo my snakes. I'm offended he ran," she said, her tone lighthearted but with a hint of venom. "They're lovely boys. Would you like to be introduced?"  
>"Oh my god…" Alexandria whispered. We had all slowly backed away at the same time.<br>"If you're Medusa… why are we not turned to stone?" Ava asked.  
>That was a pretty damn good question.<br>Medusa laughed, but it wasn't genuine. "You haven't seen my true form."  
>"What's your true form?" Astra ventured.<br>Medusa sighed. "Children… you really want to see?"  
>"Erm no, it's fine, really, we like you as you are!" Hayden said quickly. There was no way in hell that we were going to let Medusa take on her true form. Once her appearance changed to ugliness… we'd be stone.<br>But she was Medusa. And Medusa was a very bitter woman. Her face morphed – and within a second Ava screamed, "EVERYBODY LOOK AWAY!"  
>I didn't see Medusa's true form, nor will I ever. "RUN!" Adam yelled. We didn't need telling twice. We ran for our cars, hearing the hiss of snakes. Astra yelped as Medusa grabbed her arm. "This one knows dark magic!"<br>"_Guys help me!" _Astra begged, twisting. She had her eyes shut tight, refusing to look at Medusa. Alexandria ran forward, shielding her eyes, and pulled Astra's other arm. "Let her go!"  
>Medusa cackled. "Aphrodite, you are so beautiful. I remember when I had that kind of beauty. How much I took it for granted. The admirers, everything I wanted I received because of my face… but now look at me. <em>Look at me."<br>"_Alex, keep your eyes shut!" Ava ordered.  
>"I am <em>offended<em>! Am I REALLY so terrible?"  
>We couldn't give her an answer. None of us had witnessed her face yet. I had my back to her, so I could still see, as could Ava.<br>"Let me _go!"  
><em>There was a slice. My blood chilled. Something fell to the ground and I hoped it wasn't Astra. We couldn't turn around. "A-A-Astra…" Alexandria whispered.  
>"Astra, fucking answer!" Aaron begged. His back was turned too so he couldn't see if his sister was alright.<br>"I'm okay. You can turn around."  
>Slowly, we did as Astra said. Astra was standing, her face pale and eyes wide with shock. On the ground lay the beheaded body of Medusa. "NOBODY look at her face. She may be dead with the snakes will live for a few hours more," Hunter warned. Aaron grabbed Astra and pulled her in for a tight hug. "How did you manage to cut her head off?"<br>Astra shakily held out her hand. The metal skull she had been given as a weapon was in her palm. "It's a slicer, remember?" she whispered.  
>"Holy shit…" Adam said with a whistle.<br>"Get in the car everybody," Ava said. "Now."  
>In silence, we got into our designated cars and drove on to God knows what else lay in store. <p>


End file.
